The God & The Witch
by HauntedbySpirits
Summary: After the death of her best friend, Hermione seeks refuge through the mirror of Erised, a magical mirror that pulls Hermione into the realm of Asgard. With the event, comes the idea that Hermione may be the one to save Loki from himself and heal his heart. Over time, Hermione discovers there's more to Loki than meets the eye.
1. Man in the Mirror

_Here lies Harry James Potter_ were the words written on the stone, carved in by hand instead of magic. Even though Voldemort had been defeated, Harry had still been killed in the battle of Hogwarts. After the fall of Lord Voldemort, one of the Death Eaters became angry and aimed his wand at Harry, catching the young wizard off guard and killing him with those wretched words. Hermione had seen Harry's death with her own eyes and she, out of pure hatred for the Death Eater, aimed the wand at the man who had killed her friend, and said the words she hated with all her heart. The Death Eater fell onto the ground, his eyes wide open in fear and realization. Hermione fell onto her knees, shaking very much. Ron came and found her along with Harry's body nearby. "Shhh," Ron said, holding Hermione close to him. "Everything will be alright." Hermione wanted to believe Ron, but she knew that Ron was trying to be strong just as much as she was.

Hermione knew this was torture for him. Ron's best friend was dead and Harry couldn't be brought back. Time Turners were no longer an option. They had all been destroyed once Voldemort took over the ministry. Harry was not coming back and both Ron and Hermione knew it. Hogwarts was in ruins. Huge pieces of the once beautiful castle were on to the ground, cracked and chipped and even in tiny pieces from being blasted apart by a spell. Hermione knew it would take years to get Hogwarts back to its once beautiful state. 11 years old wizards would not be able to attend Hogwarts until it was repaired. Hermione stood up, thinking of only one place she needed to be right now.

"Ron, I need to be alone right now." Ron nodded, knowing that Hermione needed some time to herself. Hermione went into the damaged castle and walked down the staircases until she reached the dungeons. Hermione walked through a set of doors and continued further and further until she knew she was in the part of the castle that was under the black lake. Hermione walked up to the portrait on the door that was at the end of the hallway. "Volubilus potion," Hermione said. The portrait door opened and Hermione walked inside the room.

It was an average sized room with dim lighting, stone walls and a stone floor. There were no windows, which made the room even more dark. "Lumos," Hermione whispered, the tip of her wand illuminating brightly. There, in the middle of the room, was the Mirror of Erised. Many people wondered what had happened to the mysterious object, but only Hermione knew. Dumbledore had trusted Hermione with the secret of its location, which Hermione proudly kept. Hermione would sneak down to the room whenever she needed to be alone. Of course, the Slytherins weren't fond of Hermione lurking around the dungeons, but they didn't question it. Snape was the only other person who had known where the mirror was and he allowed Hermione to go through the dungeons without any problems.

Hermione walked over to the mirror, still holding her wand. Her face was stained with tears and her hair was a mess. Her lip was cut and she was covered in dirt as well. If anyone asked what had happened to her, she would say that she was involved in one of the biggest wizarding wars of all time. She would say that she survived and she would say it with pride, despite knowing everything and everyone she had lost along the way and during the actual battle. There were scars all over her body, including the scar on her arm from when Bellatrix had tortured her in Malfoy Manor. Hermione stared into the mirror, wanting to know what it would show her.

As the image appeared, Hermione began crying silently. In the mirror was Harry. His smile made her both happy and sad. Happy because she knew that he was with his loved ones, but sad because she knew that she would never be able to see that smile again. Her heart swelled at the thought. Harry really was gone. It was just her and Ron... and Ginny, of course. Ginny. Hermione wondered how much it hurt Ginny to know that Harry was dead. Ginny would be devastated and Hermione knew that Ginny would never get over Harry's death.

Hermione continued staring into the mirror, her eyes going in and out of focus constantly. Harry's figure began to fade away and Hermione was curious as to why. "Harry?" Hermione asked, taking a step closer to the mirror. Harry disappeared and Hermione began to panic. "No! Come back!" The tears started falling again. "Please, Harry!" That's when she noticed another figure appearing in the mirror. It was a man, quite handsome as well. He wore strange robes that were green and golden, his black hair was slicked back and his green eyes stared back at hers. Hermione looked at the figure in awe. Who was this man in the mirror? Hermione didn't know, but she knew that she wanted to find out.


	2. Luna Must Know

After several minutes of staring into the Mirror of Erised and wondering who that man was, Hermione ran out of the room and up the several flights of stairs, being as careful as she could be. Hermione figured that if anyone knew anything about who that strange man was, it would be Luna. Hermione was glad that Luna had made it through the war. She didn't know what she would do if Luna had died. True, they had only been friends for a few years, but Hermione knew that Luna was a wise person. Why else would Luna have been placed in Ravenclaw?

After several more minutes searching for the Ravenclaw, Hermione finally recognized the blonde hair that belonged to the one and only Luna Lovegood. "Luna," Hermione called, walking over to the girl. "There you are, Hermione. I was geAre tting worried. Are you okay?" Luna had a concerned look on her face. Obviously, Luna was aware that Harry had died. "Yeah. I'm okay," Hermione assured her. "Are you sure you're okay? You're pale... like you've seen a ghost." Hermione shook her head. "I'm fine, Luna. Really, I am." Hermione wasn't sure what to say. She knew that she had to ask Luna about the man she saw in the Mirror of Erised. It was just so awkward now that Harry was gone. "Luna, I have to ask you a question." Hermione closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Of course. Ask away," Luna said.

"I went down to a room below the dungeons. The Mirror of Erised was down there. I've known for awhile that it was down there. Professor Dumbledore told me the location before he died. This is the first time that I've been down there in a long time." Hermione knew that she had to get to the point. Otherwise, Luna would be confused. "Anyway, when I looked into the Mirror of Erised, I saw Harry. He was… smiling at me." Hermione looked at the ground. Luna placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "I know, Hermione. I miss him, too." Hermione shook her head. "That's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

Luna looked at Hermione. "What is it, Hermione? What's on your mind?" Hermione looked up. "When I was looking in the Mirror of Erised, Harry's image disappeared and this man appeared. I have no idea who he was, but he was… looking at me with a mievious smile on his face. I just figured that if anyone would know who that guy was, it would be you. Can you help me?"

Luna bit the inside of her cheek and looked at Hermione, who had a hopeful look on her face. Luna nodded. "Maybe. I need a description of the man you saw." Luna looked around and started walking past Hermione. "Follow me," Luna said as she walked by. Hermione followed Luna. They walked down several hallways before stopping by the door to what had once been the transfiguration classroom.

"Okay. Tell me what this man looked like," Luna said. Hermione thought back to the image in the mirror. "Well, he had black hair that was slicked back and he had these great cheekbones," Hermione said. Luna raised an eyebrow. "I mean, he had good facial features," Hermione said. "He, um, he had bright green eyes and he wore these green and gold robes. He was this god-like person."

Luna thought about each word that Hermione said. "You said that when you saw him in the Mirror of Erised, he had a mischevious smile on his face?" Hermione nodded in confirmation. "Yeah. He had a mischevious smile on his face. Almost like a smirk." Luna stayed quiet for a minute before widening her eyes in realization. A concerned look appeared on Hermione's face. "What is it, Luna?" Hermione asked. "Black hair, green eyes, green and gold robes, a mischevious smile and god-like. There's only one person I can think of that matches that description… and I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing." Hermione looked at her friend. "Well, who is it?" Luna sighed. "It's..."

 **Author's Note: Haha! A cliffhanger! I'm sure you already know who Hermione saw, but it's never a bad thing to end a chapter with a somewhat cliffhanger. I hope you enjoyed chapter 2!**


	3. Loki

"Loki Laufeyson, the God of mischief," Luna said. Hermione looked at her friend confusingly. "Loki? Surprisingly, I've never heard that name before." Hermione was unfamiliar with the name, which was surprising to her since she was a know-it-all. Luna pulled a book out of the bag she was carrying. "Here. I have a bit of an obsession with Norse mythology. Loki's a part of it. You can read all about him in here." Hermione took the book from Luna and flipped through the pages until she found the page that talked about Loki. Luna looked at Hermione. "I'll leave you alone to read that. Actually, you can keep it if you want to. I've read it a thousand times. And I have another copy at home."

"Thanks, Luna." Hermione appreciated Luna. She was a good friend. Luna nodded, a smile on her face. Luna walked away, leaving Hermione alone. Hermione walked through the halls and went to the room where the mirror was. She was sat near it, but not directly in front of it. Hermione took a deep breath and opened the book to where it talked about Loki. She read the book aloud, her voice raising a bit as she read the page. "Loki Laufeyson is a frost giant who was adopted by the Asgardian King Odin. Loki was angry when he learned that he was adopted and was even more angry when he learned that his brother Thor, who was the biological son of Odin, was the one his father was always going to choose to become king of Asgard."

The mirror began to glow, drawing Hermione's attention away from the book. In the mirror, she saw him. Loki Laufeyson was staring at her, that same smirk on his face. Hermione stood up, the book still in her hand. She slowly walked over to the mirror. Hermione was now in front of the mirror, looking at Loki's green eyes. "What do you want?" Hermione asked more to herself than to the image in the mirror.

Loki's image started fading and the mirror began to glow. Hermione's eyes widened and she took a few steps backwards. Hermione rushed to the door and pulled on the handle, but the door wouldn't open. She pulled her wand out of her boot, but before she could cast the spell to break the door down, the light from the mirror surrounded her and sucked her into the mirror, which was now completely golden. Hermione yelled, trying to fight off the light from the mirror, but was unsuccessful. Hermione was pulled into the mirror and the last thing she saw was the golden light before she blacked out.

 **Author's Note: Hey, guys. Sorry for the short chapter. I want to let you guys know that I've made a trailer for this book and it is on YouTube. Look up TheEvilOnes on YouTube and it'll be on there, along with 2 trailers for books that are on Wattpad that I wrote. Be sure to check out the trailer and check out the books on Wattpad! I hope you're enjoying the book so far and thanks to the people who have given me reviews on the book so far!**


	4. Welcome to Asgard

**Author's Note: I want to apologize for not updating this is a really long time. High school's been taking up most of my time, as well as working on original stories that a are not on a writing platform. Basically, my time has been occupied by other things and I feel really bad for not giving my reviewers another chapter. I hope that you all can forgive me for my absence.**

Hermione woke with a terrible headache. 'What happened?' She thought. "You're awake," a voice boomed. She flinched. The voice was so loud. "I'm sorry." The voice was quieter this time than it had been before. "I realize that you must be in pain. You hit your head pretty hard." Hermione looked up at the person who had been speaking. "W-where am I?" Hermione slowly stood up and looked around. She was in a golden room with several odd looking doors. "Welcome to Asgard. My name is Heimdall. I am the gatekeeper of the nine realms."

Hermione looked at him. "Asgard? The nine realms?" She had heard the name before. "Asgard." It was familiar to her. Professor McGonagall must have mentioned it before in one of her classes. "Yes. You are from Midgard, are you not?" She looked at him. "What's Midgard?" "Earth," Heimdall replied. "Oh. Yes," Hermione said. "I'm Hermione Granger." Heimdall nodded. "You'll have to go to the king and queen. They'll be wanting to see you." Hermione swallowed. "Th-the King and queen?" Heimdall nodded. "Don't worry, Ms. Granger. You are safe here." Heimdall led Hermione into the throne room where the king and queen were sat. "Your majesty," Heimdall said to the king as he bowed. "My queen," he said, bowing again for the queen. Hermione looked at the queen and had to admit that she was quite beautiful.

"Heimdall, who is this?" The king asked. Hermione looked over at the king, who was now looking at her. "This is Hermione Granger. She's a Midgardian," Heimdall said. "Ms. Granger, this is King Odin and Queen Frigga." Hermione curtsied the best she could. She was still in the clothes she had worn during the battle of Hogwarts. "My goodness, child," Frigga spoke. "What happened to you?" Hermione knew that she was taking about the scars and cuts and about all the dirt on her clothes. "I'm a student at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry in England. There's been a terrible war at the school. Hogwarts has won the battle, but many have died." Her eyes saddened. "Including my best friend. It's hard to explain. I went to be alone for awhile and a mirror brought me here."

"A mirror?" Odin asked. "It's called the Mirror of Erised. The mirror began to glow and I was sucked in. When I woke up, I was here. I saw someone in the mirror before I was pulled in. My friend Luna said it was someone named Loki." Frigga's eyes widened and she turned to her husband. Odin sighed. "It sounds like Loki has been practicing magic again," Odin said. "Not very serious magic, though. He can't escape from his cell, dear. You know that," Frigga replied. "Who is he?" Hermione asked in confusion.

"I must return to the gateway," Heimdall said. "Yes, of course," Odin said, dismissing the man. "Loki is our troubled so-" "HE IS NOT MY SON!" Odin yelled. Hermione jumped. "Odin, dear." Frigga tried to calm him, but he ignored her. "I'm going to my study," Odin said, standing up and walking out of the room. Frigga sighed and turned back to Hermione. "I'm sorry for my husband's outburst. He has quite a temper when it comes to Loki." She smiled sweetly at Hermione. "Loki's our adopted son. Recently, he's done some unforgivable things in Midgard that have gotten him locked away in the dungeons."

Hermione didn't say anything. "Come now, dear. Let's get you cleaned up and then you can rest. As it just so happens, we have an available bedroom for guests." Frigga led Hermione to the room. Along the way, Hermione admired the art on the walls. By now, she had realized that the entire castle was gold. "I hope you like it," Frigga said, opening the doors to the room. Hermione walked in, looking around. The room was beautiful. It was nicer than the prefects' room back at Hogwarts; before they were destroyed. "The bathroom is through that door," Frigga said, gesturing to a door on the right. "I will have some of the maids help you settle in."

"Oh, there's really no need to do-" Frigga had already closed the doors, leaving Hermione alone. "-that." Hermione sighed and walked over to the window, looking out. The view was incredible. A few minutes later, four maids walked in. "Hello, Ms. Granger. The queen has assigned us to help you get comfortable here." "We'll start the bath," one of the maids said, walking into the bathroom with another maid. "How hot do you like your bath water?" The second maid asked. "Somewhere in the middle. Not too hot and not too cold." The maid nodded and Hermione heard the water start. The two other maids were almost done making the bed when one of them asked "What is your favorite color?" Hermione thought for a moment. "Blue," she said. The maid walked over to the wardrobe and pulled out a beautiful blue dress that went to the ground. "This should fit you perfectly," the maid said sweetly.

The two maids came out of the bathroom. "Your bath is ready, Ms. Granger." "And there's a robe hanging on the other side of the door for you when you're done," the other maid said. "Thank you," Hermione said, a small smile on her face. The two maids moved aside to let Hermione in. "When you take your clothes off, hand them to us and we will have them washed for you." Hermione closed the door behind her and took her clothes off. She opened the door slightly and handed her clothes to one of the maids.

Hermione closed the bathroom door again and looked at the bath. It smelled amazing and there were so many bubbles. She stuck her hand into the water. It was the perfect temperature. She carefully stepped into the bath and lowered herself into the water. It was so relaxing. Hermione sighed as she laid in the tub. She could stay in there forever. Hermione cleansed herself, washing over parts of her body that had been dirtier than others. Her arms were covered in dirt stains, her knees were scraped, and she had scars all over her body.

When she was done, Hermione stepped out of the bath and dried off. She dried her hair and her body before putting the robe on. The robe was very soft and Hermione breathed in the sweet scent. It smelt of roses and honey. Hermione walked into the bedroom and saw a light blue nightgown laid out on the bed. Hermione took off the robe and changed into the nightgown. It was beautiful and she twirled around in it. Hermione grew tired and got into the bed. She covered herself with the blankets and laid her head down on the many pillows. This was amazing. Hermione's eyes began to close and she drifted into a deep sleep, one of the best ones she had had in a very long time.

 **Author's Note: Sorry if this chapter isn't as long as you wanted, but it's very hard for me to write books that aren't completely original to me. I hope you enjoyed it though. I know that not very much happened and apologize if this chapter was boring. I don't know when the next chapter will be up. It could be months or years before the next chapter is written/uploaded. Thank you for sticking with me and please be patient with me.**


	5. Dinner with Frigga

**Author's Note: I've been on a bit of a writing spree today(August 5, 2017) and I figured I would give my readers a new chapter. I hope you enjoy. Also, to the person who left a review on chapter 1 asking me to update 3 days after I uploaded chapter 4, please don't ask me to update when you're 3 chapters behind. Thank you.**

The next day rolled around slowly. Hermione woke up to the smell of pancakes, eggs, bacon, etc. She looked down at the golden tray at the end of the bed and pulled it up to her torso. The food was delicious, she had to admit. Hermione put her fork down as she picked up a note on the tray. 'Queen Frigga has requested to have dinner with Ms. Granger in the dining room tonight at 7:00 PM sharp,' the note said. A maid walked into the room after Hermione finished eating and took the tray, walking out and closing the door behind her.

Sighing, Hermione stood up and walked over to one of the windows in the room. She could see all of Asgard from here. A knock on the door pulled Hermione's eyes away from the scene. "Come in," she said.

One of the maids from last night entered the room and curtsied. Hermione shook her head. "There's no need to do that, really. I'm not royalty." The maid looked at Hermione. "You are a guest. We treat all guests like royalty." The maid walked over to the giant closet and the room and began looking through the many dresses. "Let's find you something to wear," she said, pulling out multiple dresses in a variety of colors.

After almost an hour, Hermione was dressed in a beautiful gown that was almost the same color as the nightgown she had worn previously. It was long sleeved, with the sleeves being translucent. Hermione's dirty blonde hair had been brushed and mixed with various products to make it, wavy and soft. Hermione had insisted that no makeup be put on her, but the maid who Hermione now knew was named Faye, reminded Hermione that Frigga had requested to have dinner with her that night.

Hermione agreed to a little makeup, but Hermione soon found herself with a face full of makeup. Light eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, a light blush, and a vibrant hot pink lipstick. Hermione looked like a goddess, that was true. Hermione had never seen herself as very beautiful. Unlike Lavender Brown, Hermione had never cared about appearances. Lavender was boy-crazy, caring more about being in a relationship than her studies. Hermione was the complete opposite.

After telling Faye about her situation, Hermione was given a list of things she could do to keep busy for the next few hours. After Faye walked out, Hermione returned to the window. She couldn't deny how beautiful Asgard was. She remembered the emotions going through her the first time she ever arrived at Hogwarts.

The feelings were fairly similar. It appeared that all of Asgard was gold, not just the castle. Faye had mentioned the gardens being a beautiful, quiet place. Hermione decided to head there. Hermione walked out of her room and wandered through the castle, trying to find her way to the gardens. She found herself back where she had been when she woke up the day before. Heimdall bowed his head as she entered. "Ms. Granger," he acknowledged. "Hello, Heimdall."

"How can I help you?" Heimdall approached her, hands clasped behind his back. "I was trying to find the gardens. Obviously, I failed." A small smile appeared on her face. Heimdall, too, had a smile on his face. "It's a big place. It does not surprise me." He appeared to have remembered something. He walked over to a table in the room and picked up something before walking back over to Hermione.

"I found this after I returned from bringing you to the throne room yesterday. Is it yours?" Hermione looked down at the object Heimdall held in front of her. "My wand!" Hermione took the wand from him gently. "Thank you. I didn't even realize it was gone." It was true. Hermione had been so caught up with everything that she hadn't even realized she didn't have her wand.

"I'm happy to help," Heimdall replied, bowing his head slightly. Hermione walked out, completely forgetting her quest to find the gardens. She had gone back up to her room and was practicing her spells.

The hours passed by a lot quicker than Hermione had thought and soon it was 7:00 PM. Hermione arrived a few minutes later. Frigga sat at a grande table in the middle of the room. It was just her. Hermione curtsied upon entering before walking over. "I apologize for being late, your majesty. I was having some trouble finding my way here."

A smile was plastered on the queen's face. "That's quite alright, dear. I understand. Please, have a seat." Hermione took a seat next to the queen and the two began eating. The night's conversation consisted of many topics; life on Midgard, Hogwarts, the battle of Hogwarts, as well as the history of Asgard, the various Asgardian dishes, and Frigga's family. Finally, the conversation reached the topic of Loki.

"Loki has a burning hatred for my husband. Odin killed Loki's biological father and brought Loki back to Asgard. Loki was only a baby." Hermione had read in the book Luna gave her that Loki was a frost giant from Jotunheim. Odin had killed the frost giants, along with Laufey, Loki's biological father. Odin had disguised Loki to look normal, hiding Loki's true form from all of Asgard.

"After Loki found out that Odin wasn't his father, he grew angry. He had tried so hard all these years to impress my husband. Loki and Thor, Odin's biological son, used to be so close. Loki became jealous after Thor was given the throne. Loki believes he was born to be a king, but that is not the case. My son, whether he chooses to admit that I'm his mother or not, made some choices that were unworthy of a king."

Hermione listened. From the things Frigga told her, Loki seemed to be a monster, but part of her felt like Loki was just a little boy trying to feel accepted. Hermione couldn't deny that part of her felt bad for the god. Despite the things he had apparently done, Hermione couldn't deny that she understood Loki in a way, and she hadn't even met him yet.

The two finished their meals before continuing their conversations. "Well, it has been a wonderful evening, Ms. Granger. I thank you for accepting my invitation and eating with me. Now, I must retire to my chambers." Hermione curtsied. "It was an honor." Frigga walked out and to her chambers.

Hermione soon left the dining room and returned to her room. The night was still young, but she found herself even more tired than she had been the night before. Hermione removed her makeup and changed into a white nightgown. She placed her wand next to her on the end table and drifted off to sleep.


	6. Meeting Thor

Hermione slept in the next morning, causing her to miss breakfast that day. It was about 11:00 AM when Hermione finally got out of bed. She stretched before standing up and going to the bathroom. Hermione heard the door to the bedroom open and knew that it was Faye. The maid had told Hermione that she would be there in the morning to help Hermione. She was a bit hesitant when Faye told her to undress. "Don't worry, Ms. Granger. There's no need to feel uncomfortable," Faye had said. After being persuaded, Hermione was cleaned up and made to look like a goddess again.

Hermione was put in an olive green gown that touched the floor. The sleeves were short and fell off of Hermione's shoulders. Hermione's makeup was a bit darker today, but she didn't mind. Her lipstick was now a dark red and she was absolutely in love with it. Her hair was extremely soft and shiny. Faye had used some curlers to make her hair bounce. She couldn't deny that she looked incredibly beautiful. Hermione picked up her wand and admired the design on it. She had always liked the design on her wand. It was so unique and she couldn't deny that she had always been curious about how it was made.

Back at Hogwarts, Hermione hadn't really been interested in the creation of wands, which had surprised Harry and Ron. The smile on her face fell as she remembered her friends. Ron was alone now. Harry was dead and Hermione had been gone for days. She realized that Ron was probably worried sick about her. Ginny, Luna, and Neville, too. Hermione sighed and decided that she needed some fresh air. She still had no idea where the gardens were, but she was determined to find them.

The witch walked out of her room and down the long, golden hallways of the castle. And she had thought that Hogwarts was confusing to get around. She had thought that there was no place in existence as confusing as Hogwarts. Boy, was she mistaken. A few more minutes of walking caused her to roll her eyes. This was ridiculous. Hermione groaned and closed her eyes, trying to calm down. She was irritated. The sound of footsteps caused her eyes to open. A figure turned the corner and appeared in front of Hermione. He was a very fit guy with big muscles and blonde hair.

In his hand was a hammer, Mjölnir. Hermione remembered reading about it in the Norse mythology book Luna had given her. She recognized the designs on it. There was only **one** person who could wield the hammer. This was Thor, Loki's brother. Well, adoptive brother. Hermione hadn't realized that she had been staring until her eyes began to sting. She blinked a few times before looking at the god. He hadn't said anything, though he had definitely noticed her.

"You must be Ms. Granger," Thor said, a smile on his face. He stuck his hand out to her. "Hermione," she replied, sticking her hand out as well. Thor took her hand and planted a light kiss on her knuckles. She hadn't expected that. The last time she had had a kiss like that was the yule ball with Viktor. "Hermione," Thor repeated. "That's a nice name." Hermione smiled slightly. He was handsome, but not as handsome as Loki, though she supposed that she didn't have much to go off of. After all, she had only seen Loki through the mirror of Erised.

"My name is Thor. Perhaps you've heard of me?" Hermione nodded. She hadn't read much about him, but Frigga had mentioned Thor during dinner last night."You're Loki's brother, the god of thunder." Thor's smile slightly faded at the mention of Loki, but returned once his title was said. "Indeed, I am the god of thunder... and Loki is adopted, but yes. He is my brother."

"I take it you're not fond of him?" Hermione asked. Thor shook his head. "No, it's not that. Believe me, I love Loki no matter what. We grew up together. We were raised together. It's just that... with the things he has done,mit's hard to think about him as my brother, knowing of all the trouble he has caused." Hermione nodded.

"Anyway, where are you off to?" Hermione clasped her hands together. "The gardens. I needed a bit of fresh air. I'm just having some trouble finding them." Thor chuckled. "I'm not surprised. Asgard is a big place. As a matter of fact, I'm in need of some fresh air as well. Mind if I join you?" Thor offered Hermione his arm. Hermione wasn't really wanting the company, but she couldn't say no. After all, she didn't even know where the gardens were. "Of course," she said, taking his arm.

The two walked through the halls of Asgard and soon came to a large archway covered in beautiful flowers. Hermione couldn't believe that she had missed this. Hermione closed her eyes, breathing in the oxygen and hints of the many flowers. "This... this is incredible," Hermione said, her eyes scanning over the different colored flowers. "It's nothing special. They're just flowers. I'm sure there are many back at... Hogwarts, was it?" Hermione's smile faded. "Actually, Hogwarts used to be a beautiful, magical place until the headmaster was killed. Then there was a war. Hogwarts is in pieces. Many people died, including one of my best friends."

"I'm so sorry," Thor said. Hermione shook her head. "Things will get better. I'm just worried about my friends. They're probably worried about me as well. I've been here for what? 3 days?" Thor looked at the ground. "Actually, time has barely passed. While days have passed here in Asgard, you've only been gone for maybe an hour or so back in your realm."

"Really? Time is strange," Hermione said. Thor chuckled. "Indeed, it is." The smile on his face disappeared. "There's something I have to tell you. I'm not supposed to say anything, but I can't help it." Hermione looked at the god with confusion on her face. "My mother believes that there is a reason you came here. Loki has denied doing any kind of mirror magic and claims that he has never seen or heard of you. My mother believes that you might be what Loki's missing. She thinks you might be able to help him... to change him. I think she's right."

Hermione understood and she became angry. "I'm sorry, but I cannot help you. I'm in a relationship already and I'm quite happy. Your brother does need help, but the kind of help you and your mother believe I can provide is not the kind that I can offer." With that said, Hermione stormed off, leaving the god alone in the gardens.

 **Author's Note: This chapter was originally longer, but once again, wifi issues caused it to not save so, I had to rewrite most of the chapter. Sorry that it's not exactly the way I had originally had it, but you can blame the stupid wifi and dumb school laptops.**


	7. Wandering Child

Hemione walked down the halls furiously. She couldn't believe that Thor and Frigga thought she could help Loki. They didn't care about her at all, and with this new information, she suspected that they would do anything to prevent her from going home. The witch wasn't even sure where she was going. She had been so mad that she hadn't even been paying attention to where she was. Hermione was lost and nobody was around. She looked around, but she didn't recognize the area, though why would she? She didn't recognize any part of the castle anyway.

It was completely silent until a voice popped into Hermione's head, making her jump. She looked around, assuming that there was someone nearby, but she saw no one. The disembodied voice chuckled as if amused by Hermione's confusion. It was a voice she had never heard before. _"Wandering child, so lost, so helpless."_ Hermione looked down at the floor. The voice echoed in her brain, causing her to press her hands to her ears in hopes that the voice would go away. _"Don't cover your ears, girl. It won't do anything for you."_ Hermione removed her hands from her ears hesitantly and looked around the empty hall. "Who are you? Where are you?" Hermione's breathing became heavy as her heart beat against her chest in fear.

The voice chuckled. _"See that hole in the wall? Walk into it and go down the stairs."_ Hermione turned the hole in question. It was an entryway. Slowly, she made her way down the steps. It was dark and cold. "Lumos," Hermione whispered after pulling out her wand. The witch continued down the hall, using the light from her wand to keep her from running into anything. She walked through the darkness for at least two more minutes before she saw light that wasn't from her wand. "Nox," she whispered, putting out the light from her wand.

She saw now that she was in the dungeons. The cells held all sorts of creatures. The cells were closed by a golden forcefield to keep the prisoners from escaping. Hermione swallowed and took slow steps forward. The first cell caught her eye. She recognized the prisoner inside. Hermione stopped in front of the cell. the raven-haired man wasn't facing her, but his voice still echoed in her mind. _"I see you've found me. You listen well, girl."_ He turned around to face her, his green eyes staring into her dark brown ones.

"So, you're the one my mother's been pestering me about." Hermione stayed absolutely silent, frozen in place. "What's wrong, girl? Why so silent?" Hermione flinched at the somewhat harsh tone of his voice. "You're Loki," she replied. The god grinned, pleased that she knew of him. He began walking back and forth, never taking his eyes off of Hermione. He seemed to be scanning her, trying to learn as much about her as he possibly could. It made Hermione uncomfortable, knowing that he was taking in as much information as he desired.

"Hermione Jean Granger, born to two nonmagical Midgardians. You're eighteen years of age and you attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You're in Gryffindor, though you're intelligence level makes you fit for a house called Ravenclaw. Your best friend has died in a magical war and... your boyfriend is a ginger with a strange last name." How he had been able to figure that, Hermione didn't know. She remembered in the mythology book that it had described Loki's intelligence level. It was quite high, much higher than his adoptive brother's.

"Am I wrong?" Loki asked, stopping in his tracks. Hermione shook her head in response, which seemed to please the god. "I had hoped that you would be more of a conversationalist. It appears you are just as silent as the night."

"Only because you've made an interesting first impression, though it's not the kind of impression I'm used to." Hermione crossed her arms. "Oh?" Loki raised an eyebrow. "And what is the impression you are used to?" His voice was soft, calm, but she could hear a faint taunting tone to his voice. "It doesn't concern you," she said simply. "Doesn't it? You weren't pleased with my first impression. Why does it not concern me?"

Hermione's eyes narrowed as he chuckled. "You do get angered easily, don't you girl? That's what brought you here, isn't it? Wandering child, lost in a world she knows nothing about." Loki grinned mischievously. "There's nowhere for you to go, young one."

Hermione heard footsteps, followed by Frigga's voice. "Ms. Granger? There you are, dear. What are you doing down here?" Frigga looked over at Loki. "Oh. I see you two have met." The god bowed his head slightly. "She got lost," he said to Frigga. "I lured her down here so I could see what all the fuss was about." Frigga nodded. "I see. Come, Ms. Granger. I'll help you find your way back."

 _"Wandering child, so lost, so helpless. We shall meet again soon,"_ Loki said through Hermione's mind. Hermione pretended like she hadn't noticed, but she couldn't deny that it bugged her ever so slightly that he could get into her head so easily.

Frigga led the way back to Hermione's room. "Here you are, dear. Safe and sound." Frigga was smiling, but Hermione couldn't deny that she wanted to wipe that smile off of the queen's face. "Thor told me about how you believe I can help Loki. I'm sorry to say that I can't do that." Frigga sighed. "I know you think that, Ms. Granger. I don't blame you for being angry. I've been thinking, though. Loki didn't know about you at all. I think there's a reason you saw him in that magical mirror. I think you're fated to save him. I don't know if that's the case or not, but if I know anything, I think you should at least think about it."

With that said, Frigga took off, leaving Hermione alone.


	8. Voices in the Mind

Hermione sat down on the bed, thinking to herself. She couldn't keep her mind off of Loki. It frightened her how much information he could get just from looking at her. Hermione had decided not to eat any meals that night. She wasn't very hungry. She had changed into the nightgown that she had been given and played with the fabric. It was extremely soft, which Hermione loved. A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts of Loki. "Come in," she said. Faye walked in with Molly standing beside her. It hadn't occurred to her that Molly shared the same name as Ron's mother. That thought gave her a sense of happiness.

"Sorry to bother you, Lady Granger. We were asked to check in on you. The queen was worried when you didn't show up for dinner." It was Faye who spoke. Hermione smiled politely. "Yes, I'm alright. Thank you. I'm just not very hungry." The two maids simply nodded. "Alright. Well, if you need anything, just call." Hermione nodded as the two girls walked out of the room, closing the door behind them. Hermione was suddenly hit with a wave of sleepiness. She laid down on the bed, pulling the soft, warm covers over her, and putting her head on the many soft pillows. She fell asleep almost instantly.

Late in the night, a voice rang out in her mind. _"Wandering child, you sleep so soundly. You seem so pure, almost like an angel from above."_ Hermione's eyes flew open and she sat up straight in the bed. The lights were off in the room and Hermione couldn't see. She grabbed her wand from the table beside her. "Lumos," she muttered. The tip of her wand illuminated with an icy blue light. She saw no one else in the room. Hermione sighed and put out the light from her wand. She decided to keep it close to her by holding the wand firmly against her chest. Hermione slowly drifted back to sleep. She swore that she could hear a deep chuckle from nearby, but was far too tired to pay any attention to it.

The next morning, Hermione woke up early. Despite the interruption in the night, Hermione felt like she had gotten the best sleep ever. She took a nice, warm bath with lots of bubbles. It felt so nice that she almost fell asleep in the bathtub just from being so comfortable. After she had dried off, Hermione used her wand to do her hair and makeup as well as put on the outfit she had picked for the day. As much as she enjoyed wearing all of the beautiful gowns, she felt like she needed to go back to wearing something more casual. Hermione wore a pair of light blue skinny jeans and a dark red hoodie with a white tank top underneath. She also wore a pair of black converse. Hermione hadn't put on too much makeup, just a light eyeshadow, some blush, a small bit of eyeliner, and a bit of lipgloss. Nothing too fancy.

Hermione grabbed her wand and tucked it into the pocket of her hoodie before walking into the hallway. It was empty, unsurprisingly. At Hermione's request, Frigga had given her a map to keep her from getting lost. Hermione was very grateful. She decided to spend the morning in the library, at least until breakfast, which Hermione had told her was at 8:00 AM. It was only 5:23 AM. Following the map, Hermione went to the library. She looked around in awe as she entered the room. It was a very large room with shelves filled with books. The library was far bigger than the one at Hogwarts. Hermione thought she was going to cry from happiness. She walked further into the large room, taking in as much as she could. There were several statues in the room, past rulers of Asgard, she assumed. Hermione walked over to a bookshelf filled with books labeled **Midgardian Mythology vol. #.** Hermione grabbed the first volume and sat down at one of the tables nearby. She opened to the first page and indulged herself in the information. Many of the stories told in the book were ones that Hermione had heard of, tales told by parents to their children, as well as true events that had happened on Earth.

Hermione spent most of the morning in the library. She had gone through a total of eight volumes of **Midgardian Mythology** when a voice pulled her away from the book. Hermione looked up to see Odin standing not so far away from where she was currently sat. He had been watching her read for a few minutes. "Quite the reader, aren't you?" He had asked. Hermione stood up abruptly and kneeled. The god chuckled whole-heartedly and gestured for her to rise. "There is no need for that, Ms. Granger, though it is much appreciated." Hermione allowed a small awkward smile to appear on her face. "My wife was right about you. You are special. I know very few young ladies who enjoy reading as much as you do." Hermione didn't know whether or not that was a compliment but smiled nonetheless.

Odin walked over to see what Hermione was reading. "Ah. **Midgardian Mythology vol. 9.** That has always been one of my favorites. **Midgardian Mythology vol. 32** is also a good one. I'm surprised you were drawn to these. as a Midgardian, you must know this information already." Hermione shrugged. "Some of it, I suppose. Most of the information I've gotten from reading these are just stories parents tell their kids. Some of the stories in there are ones my parents used to tell me when I was younger." She tried not to cry at the mention of her parents. She had had to erase their minds of her existence in order to keep them safe from Voldemort. Now, she would never see them again.

Odin could sense that something was wrong. "What is it, ms. Granger?" Hermione shook her head. "Oh, nothing. I just remembered something that I was trying to forget. I'm alright." She put on an assuring smile, hoping he wouldn't question her about it any further. He raised an eyebrow but left it alone. "There are many books within this library, as I'm sure you could tell. There are several books on the history of Asgard, the mythology of your people, of course. There are books about the other planets and realms that surround Asgard and Midgard. Any book you could imagine resides in this library." Hermione followed Odin around the library as he talked about some of his favorite books to read.

Hermione was surprised to hear that Odin liked **Pride and Prejudice.** He didn't seem like the kind of person who would be into that. "I've always loved reading. People back at Hogwarts called me a know-it-all, especially when I was younger. I love knowledge and always have." Odin seemed to be pleased with that. _"The oaf prides himself on his knowledge and power."_ Hermione couldn't help the sour look that appeared on her face. By now, she was fully aware that the voice in her head was Loki's. 'And you don't?' She asked in her mind. _"Ooh, someone's in a mood,"_ he said. 'I don't appreciate you popping into my head constantly.' Loki laughed, causing Hermione to flinch from how cold it sounded. _"What? You don't like voices in your head? Voices in the mind make you cringe?"_ Odin had sensed that something was wrong when Hermione stopped speaking.

"Ms. Granger? Are you alright?" Hermione nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something. I'm sorry, your majesty. I have to go." Odin nodded. "I understand. Thank you for speaking with me." Hermione smiled and walked out of the library. Loki had stopped speaking to her, thankfully. She headed down the halls, back to her room. She would find something else to do before breakfast that morning.


	9. Announcing the Ball

After returning to her room, Hermione decided to just sit by the window and admire the scenery. Faye had brought Hermione some tea and had offered to keep her company. Hermione kindly declined, telling Faye that she needed some time to herself to just think. Faye understood completely and had left not a minute after. Hermione appreciated Faye immensely. The maid was so kind and innocent, probably never having seen the horrors Hermione had. The chair Hermione was sitting in was very plain, but very comfortable. She supposed Frigga had something to do with it. Hermione had remembered telling Frigga about how plain her life had been outside of Hogwarts. She had said how much she missed things being plain and ordinary.

Hermione was grateful for Frigga as well. Despite what Hermione now knew, she was still happy that she could trust Frigga for the simplest of things. Taking a sip of her tea, Hermione's mind began to wander back to Ron and the others. Nobody knew what had happened to her. She figured they must have been worried. She had been gone for days and there was no way that she would be going home anytime soon. Hermione's heart broke just thinking about Ron. She missed him so much. She couldn't help but think about the freckled ginger boy who stole her heart. She missed the funny faces he made. She missed his unneeded commentary and ridiculous jokes. Hermione allowed a tear to roll down her cheek. She set her tea on the table next to her stood up before walking over to stand in the center of the window. Her eyes scanned the scenery, brown meeting the golden glow of the palace.

A knock on her door pulled her out of her thoughts. Hermione walked over and opened the door. "Yes?" She asked, seeing a guard standing there. "The queen asked me to let you know that breakfast is ready," he replied. Hermione nodded, a polite smile on her face. "Thank you," she said, walking past him after closing the door behind her. He bowed his head as she passed him, never taking his eyes off of her as she walked through the halls to the dining room.

Hermione entered the dining room with a smile. At the dining table sat Odin, Thor, and Frigga. Odin sat the head of the table with Frigga on his left and Thor on his right. They said nothing of her attire, though Odin hadn't said anything about it earlier that morning either. Hermione took a seat next to Frigga who was smiling sweetly at her. Odin didn't bring up the library incident, which Hermione was grateful for. She really didn't feel like explaining to Odin that Loki kept popping into her head. The four ate in silence until Frigga cleared her throat. Hermione turned as Frigga began to speak.

"Are you familiar with balls?" Frigga asked. "Fancy dresses? Dancing?" Hermione asked, clasping her hands together in her lap. Frigga nodded. "We are hosting a ball next month for Thor's birthday. We would like it very much if you would attend." Hermione fidgeted with the ring on her pinky finger in thought. "I suppose I could attend."

Frigga smiled sweetly at Hermione as Thor grinned. Hermione just nodded at him before finishing her breakfast. Once the others had finished eating, they went their separate ways, except for Thor who had come up to Hermione as she was walking down the hall. "Ms. Granger," he called. Hermione stopped and turned around. "You can call me Hermione. Not everyone needs to be so formal with me."

Thor smiled at her. "Well, then. Hermione," he began. "It would make me very happy to see you at the ball. My birthday balls have always been plain." Hermione tilted her head to the side, a small smile on her face. "Plain? How could a ball for you be plain? You're a god." The two had started walking again, Thor right beside Hermione. "I mean that it's the same people every year. With you attending, the ball will at least be somewhat different." Hermione stopped to think about that. "I suppose it will be." Thor stopped walking as Hermione started. "Please excuse me, Hermione. I have some very important business to attend to." He bowed slightly before walking the other way.

Hermione headed back to her room. There were still a few hours until lunch and Hermione didn't have anything to do. She sat down on her bed and looked down at her wand. She remembered the first time she got her wand. It had been one of the best days of her life. Hermione brought her hand to her face, wiping away the tears that had started falling. She missed her friends immensely. She hadn't been here for very long, but she had no idea how time worked in Asgard.

Hermione put her wand on top of the table next to the bed and laid back. She stared up at the ceiling as she played with the ring on her pinky finger. _"You do play with that ring quite a lot, don't you?"_ Hermione rolled her eyes and groaned. "Will you get out of my head?" She spoke somewhat quietly in case anyone was passing by and heard her. Loki chuckled in Hermione's head. _"But it's so much fun seeing you angry. Why do you fiddle with that ridiculous piece of metal?"_ Hermione looked down at the ring before answering. "It was a birthday present from my parents. I'll never see them again and even if I do, they won't have any idea who I am." Even though she couldn't see him, Hermione could tell that he was raising his eyebrow in confusion.

 _"Why would they not know you?"_ Hermione really didn't feel like having this discussion, especially not with Loki. "It doesn't matter," she said, sitting up. _"Clearly, it does, If it didn't, you wouldn't be crying."_ Hermione brought her hand back up to her face. She hadn't noticed that she had started crying again. "You wouldn't understand. I doubt you really care anyway." Hermione rubbed the back of her neck as Loki spoke to her. " _You don't know me. How would you know if I care or not?"_ Hermione didn't answer and it seemed their conversation was over. Hermione sighed and laid back down on the bed. She suddenly got a painful headache and gladly closed her eyes, letting sleep take over her body.


	10. Odin's Decision

"No! absolutely not," Odin shouted at Frigga's request. "He will not be let out for any reason." Frigga tried to reason with her husband. "Odin, darling. Ms. Granger has agreed to attend the ball. At least, that's what your _son_ has said." Frigga held her head up high as Odin looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "Why does it matter? You and Thor may believe whatever you wish, but I know better." Frigga sighed as she took a seat next to him. "I don't understand, dear. Before Loki did all of these terrible things, you called him your son. You treated him like family. Now, you treat him as if he is worth nothing."

She knew in her heart that Odin didn't care for Loki, that Loki had just been Odin's idea of a truce emblem. Odin was quick to say something. "What he did is unacceptable. I will not have his actions come back to me." This made Frigga very upset. "And what of the thingS Thor has done? He has made mistakes, too, and not once have you ever turned your back on him as you have Loki." At hearing this, Odin stood up abruptly, his voice loud and clear. "I WILL NOT HAVE A FROST GIANT FOR A SON!" Frigga looked at Odin with gritted teeth. "And you will no longer have me as a wife." Frigga turned and walked out of the room, leaving odin alone. None of the guards said anything, but simply glanced at each other before pretending like nothing had happened.

...

Hermione was back in the library, walking around with a piece of paper in her hand and a quill in the other. She was making a list of the books that seemed the most interesting to her. Despite her love for knowledge, there were still some things she found more interesting than others. So far on her list, she had **The History of Asgardian Rulers, Asgardian Arts, The Lost temples of the Nine Realms, The Nine Realms 101,** and **Creating the Nine Realms.** These were the ones that had drawn Hermione's attention the most. Not much had gone on the last few days. it had been pretty quiet lately, which Hermione honestly didn't mind. Hermione had managed to finish all of the **Midgardian Mythology** books. She had gained so much knowledge from those books, but now her head hurt just a little from all that she had learned.

She was writing down the name of another book when she heard someone enter the library. She finished writing the title of the book before raising her head to see who had come in. That guard from before bowed his head in acknowledgment, a smile on his face. "Good afternoon, Ms. Granger. It's a lovely day isn't it?" Hermione walked down the the few steps that were nearby until she was on the ground floor of the library. "I suppose it is," she said. The guard smiled at her. "I'm Nolan, by the way," the guard said. Hermione never let the smile on her face disappear. "Nolan. That's a nice name."

"Thank you. I'm off duty at the moment. I was wondering if you would like to walk with me," he said. Hermione thought for a few seconds. "Sure. Why not? I just have to drop these things off at my room." Nolan nodded. "Of course. I'll walk you there." The two walked out of the library and down to Hermione's room. Hermione opened the door and put her stuff down on the table in the room before walking out and closing the door behind her. The two walked through the halls and out to the gardens.

"So, how are you liking Asgard?" Nolan asked once they got outside. "it's beautiful," Hermione replied. "Everyone here has been so nice to me." Well, no everyone. Hermione wasn't going to mention Loki to anyone. She didn't want anyone to know that Loki had been conversing with her through her mind. It wasn't that she enjoyed him talking to her in her head, but she didn't want him to have the satisfaction of letting him know that it bothered her.

"I agree. I've noticed that things have been a lot more peaceful since you arrived, especially with Loki," Nolan said. Hermione turned to look at him, eyes narrowed in confusion. "Loki?" Nolan nodded. "Yeah. I sometimes guard the dungeons. Loki isn't much of a handful anyway when he's in his cell, but he's seemed to be a lot more quiet now that you're here. I don't know. Maybe I'm thinking too much into it. The guy has always been strange, but things with him are getting weird now that you're around."

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Why do you think that is?" She asked. "Your guess is as good as mine," Nolan replied with a shrug. The two continued their walk. Things were going fine until Hermione felt the energy from Nolan change. The air seemed to grow colder around them. Nolan has stopped walking and turned to face Hermione, a smirk on his face. "You're such an interesting girl." He started stalking towards her, that same twisted look staying on his face. Hermione hadn't brought her wand with her, which she realized had been a mistake. She backed up until her back hit the wall of the palace. Nolan placed his arms on either side of her head, caging her in.

"Nolan, what are you doing?" Her voice was shaky and she hoped that he hadn't been able to tell that she was scared. He chuckled and leaned in. "You're shaking. Are you afraid?" He asked as he twirled a piece of Hermione's hair between his fingers. "Ms. Granger?" Both heads turned to see Frigga. Nolan immediately straightened up. "What's going on?" She asked, approaching the two. "We were just talking about our love for books, weren't we, Ms. Granger?" Nolan turned to Hermione who was still slightly shaking. He stared at her with a look that said to play along or else. Hermione put a small smile on her face and nodded. "Yeah. We have very common tastes in books." Frigga just smiled. "That sounds lovely. Mr. Ferirson, I need to speak to Ms. Granger. Please excuse us." Frigga took Hermione's hand, gently pulling her along. Nolan bowed his head. "Of course, your majesty." He watched as Frigga dragged Hermione away, a scowl on his face.

...

Odin was sat in his office, thinking about what Frigga had said. He loved his wife dearly, but her request was insane. As much as he hated to admit it, he was starting to believe that Hermione was their only hope to save Loki. He sighed and placed his index fingers at his temples, massaging them gently. He was still conflicted, but he knew that he had to do what was right. He had made his decision. Hopefully, Frigga would be thankful and forgive him for earlier. He just hoped that he wouldn't come to regret it.


	11. Telling Faye

Hermione was grateful for Frigga. If it hadn't been for her, Hermione would have been in some serious trouble with Nolan. He had seemed like a nice guy, but now Hermione knew to stay away from him. The two walked down the halls, arms linked together as if they were old friends. "Are you alright?" Frigga asked. Hermione was still a bit shaken up from Nolan. "Yeah. I'm alright," she said. Hermione tried her best to keep her voice from sounding so shaky, but she knew she wasn't fooling anyone. "Ms. Granger, did Mr. Ferirson hurt you?" Frigga had a look of concern on her face and stopped walking. Hermione shook her head. It was true. Nolan hadn't hurt her, but had Frigga not come to her rescue, Hermione didn't know what Nolan would have done. just the thought that Nolan could have done worse to her was enough to scare her.

"Ms. Granger, please. If he hurt you in any way, tell me. I'll have it taken care of immediately." Hermione shook her head once more. "I assure you, your majesty. I'm quite alright." She put a smile on her face, hoping it would put Frigga at ease. Frigga sighed and began walking again. "If you are sure, then I won't do anything." Hermione didn't respond and allowed herself to be gently pulled along by the queen.

"Thor tells me you've accepted the invitation to the ball," Frigga said after awhile. "How could I refuse? The last ball I went to was back in my fourth year at Hogwarts." Hermione remembered how horrible things had gone that night. Ron and her had gotten into a fight, which had ruined the rest of the night for Hermione. She didn't bother to mention that to Frigga. "I suppose you'll be needing a dress for the occasion," Frigga said. Hermione turned to her. "Oh, no. It's alright. There are many dresses in the wardrobe I could wear." Frigga had a polite smile on her face as she shook her head. "Don't be silly, Ms. Granger. Those dresses are not meant for this kind of occasion. I'll send for a tailor to make you the loveliest dress for the ball." Hermione couldn't turn down the offer, not that it mattered. She couldn't persuade the queen to change her mind anyway.

Odin approached them not that long after. "Ah, Ms. Granger. I hope you don't mind, but I need to speak to my wife." Hermione nodded. "Of course," she said before curtseying and walking away. Frigga's smile disappeared once Hermione was gone. "I'm not in the mood to speak with you, Odin." The king sighed. He loved Frigga dearly, but sometimes her stubbornness was too much for him. Odin did his best to speak calmly. "I thought about what you said earlier, Frigga. I love you too much to lose you over a silly argument. You and Thor have persuaded me to believe there may be a second chance for Loki and that that second chance is through Ms. Granger." Sighing, he took her hands in his. "Loki will be let out of his cell for the ball and... i've considered giving him his old room back. If Loki causes any trouble whilst out of his cell, he will be put back in the dungeons without hesitation."

Frigga seemed please with his decision and agreed wholeheartedly. "Do you plan on telling Ms. Granger of this?" Odin asked. Frigga shook her head. "Loki and Ms. Granger must fall in love naturally." Odin nodded, knowing that was true. The two walked back to the throne room in peace.

...

Hermione had gone back to her room, making sure to put a locking spell on it in case Nolan came by. She was curled up in the corner of the room behind the bed, sitting on the floor with her knees pulled up to her chest. Usually, Hermione was braver than this. She was in Gryffindor, after all. She had never felt this terrified before. 'What is wrong with you, Hermione? You're a Gryffindor, for Merlin's sake. Act like it,' she thought.

A knock on her door pulled Hermione out of her thoughts. "Ms. Granger?" It was Faye's voice. Hermione slowly walked over and opened the door. Seeing that it was, in fact, Faye. "Are you alright?" Faye had a worried look on her face. "Honestly? No." Hermione pulled Faye into the room and closed the door behind her. "May I ask what's wrong?" Hermione sat down on the bed. "Do you know a guard named Nolan Ferirson?" A small smile appeared on the maid's face. "Oh, yes. He's a very nice guy. Why do you ask?"

"He and I were walking through the gardens and he kind of harassed me." Faye's eyes widened. "Wait, he didn't-" Hermione knew what Faye was thinking and was quick to dismiss it. "No! Absolutely not," she said. Faye sighed in relief and put a hand on Hermione's. "Did you tell anyone?" Faye asked.

"Not really. He didn't hurt me, which the queen asked me about. I'm okay, really. I'm just a little shaken up." Faye looked at the floor. "You should tell the king about this. He can take care of the guard." Hermione shook her head. "No. That won't be necessary. Nolan seemed like a nice guy and maybe he is. Maybe he just had a moment. If that's the case, I don't want him to lose his job."

"Forget his job. Nolan would lose his life. Things like this are taken very seriously." Hermione looked at her lap. "It's fine, really. I'm okay."

"Did you need something by the way?" She asked. Faye straightened up. "Oh, yes. The queen asked me to fetch you. A tailor has arrived at the palace. You are needed for measuring." Hermione nodded and followed Faye out of the room, making sure to lock the door behind her and making sure that she had her wand on her. The two walked down the halls into a room where Molly was waiting along with the queen and a tailor.

"Thank you, Ms. Welversdottir," Frigga said as a smile graced her features. Faye curtsied and scurried over to stand next to Molly. "Ms. Granger, this is Mr. Zenkirson, one of the royal tailors and my personal favorite." The tailor grinned and bowed his head in greeting. "Hello, Ms. Granger. It's an honor to meet you."

Hermione simply smiled at the man. Hermione followed the tailor's instructions for the rest of the afternoon. She was a little hesitant when the tailor asked her to strip down to her underwear, but Frigga assured her that it was just for accuracy and that she had nothing to worry about. That calmed her a little bit. The rest of the afternoon consisted of questions such as preferred style, color, etc. Hermione was now dressed in her clothing again. The tailor said he would have the dress done in a few weeks time. After thanking him, Hermione was left alone with Frigga, Molly, and Faye.

"Thank you for helping out, ladies. It is much appreciated." The two maids curtsied and left the room to attend to other tasks. "It's almost time for supper, Ms. Granger. We should head to the dining hall." With that said, Frigga and Hermione walked down to the dining hall together, both feeling very hungry.


	12. The Ball

Not much had happened in the past few weeks. Hermione found herself in the company of Faye and Molly more often, Frigga as well. She had successfully avoided Nolan. In fact, she hadn't even seen him in the halls. Hermione didn't really think that was a bad thing, but if he had lost his job(or his life, as Faye had mentioned) because of Hermione, she felt bad.

She knew that she probably shouldn't feel that way, but she couldn't help it. it was in her nature.

Hermione was currently sitting in her room, reading a book she had gotten from the library in the castle. Odin had recommended it to her a few weeks ago and she couldn't deny that he was right when he told her that the book was far more fascinating than it seemed. It was called **Midgardian Clockwork**. It sounded like it was about clocks and watches, but it was really about how time worked on Midgard compared to other realms. Hermione had fallen in love with it so easily.

Despite how calm everything had been lately, Hermione was nervous. The ball was in a few days and Hermione still hadn't seen the dress that the tailor had made for her. The last few days had consisted of lessons on how to dance, which Hermione desperately needed as it had been so long since the last time she went to a ball. Hermione had done decent enough during the first lesson, though there were still many things she had to work on. Luckily, she had the chance to improve during the other lessons. The teacher had said that Hermione made quite the improvement since the first lesson, which Hermione was happy about. The lessons had ended only a few days ago.

Adding to how peaceful things had been, Loki hadn't been conversing with Hermione through her head at all. Hermione was happy about that, a lot more than she had expected. She had discovered just how much she hated having conversations through her head. Nobody was allowed to know how she discovered this.

Hermione closed her book, making sure to put back the bookmark so that she didn't lose her place. Sighing, she put her book on the table beside her bed and stood up. She grabbed her robe and walked into the bathroom before turning on the water to the bath. Hermione checked the temperature, making sure that it wasn't too hot or too cold. She let it fill up and took her clothes off before turning off the water and stepping into the tub. The water easily relaxed her muscles, which were slightly sore from the many dance lessons she had had. Hermione closed her eyes and let the water soak into her pores before washing her body and her hair.

After awhile, she just laid there with her eyes closed. It was extremely relaxing.

Everything was peaceful until she heard the bathroom door open and footsteps come towards her. She didn't bother turning around as she was too relaxed. She screamed as she was grabbed and pushed completely under the water. Hermione screamed and fought as she tried to get out of the water. She couldn't see the person, but whoever it was was trying to drown her. She finally managed to open her eyes and could see that it was Nolan. Hermione proceeded to fight back and scream, but it was no use.

Hermione gasped for air as she came up from under the water. A look of terror was on her face as she looked around. She was completely alone. It had been a dream. Hermione was shaking furiously as she stepped out of the tub, tying the towel tightly around her body. She quickly let the water out and sat down on the floor by the tub, gripping the side of it while her body continued to shake. She wasn't sure for how long she had been in there, but it must have been awhile as Faye had come in with a worried look on her face. Molly soon came in and also comforted Hermione, who hadn't stopped shaking yet.

Hermione didn't tell them why she was shaking, simply saying she had had a bad dream. The two didn't question her, deciding it was best that they leave her alone about it. After awhile, Hermione dressed herself in a lilac colored dress that went just past her knees. She decided to straighten her hair as well. Her makeup was very simple, a white eyeshadow, a light pink blush, a bit of eyeliner, mascara, and some light pink lipgloss.

While she liked looking like a bit of a princess, she hadn't quite gotten used to it. She had been here for almost two months and in those two months, she had mainly been wearing dresses. Any normal person would think that she would be used to this by now. Hermione stood in front of the mirror, looking at her reflection one last time before grabbing her wand and walking out of her room.

She gripped her wand tightly in her hand as she looked down both ends of the hallway. After that morning, she had wanted nothing more than to make sure she had her wand with her. Seeing the halls were empty, she walked fully out of her room and checked to make sure the locking spell was still in place on her door. She sighed in relief and turned down the hall.

Pulling out the map Frigga had given her, she walked down to the kitchens to grab a snack. She had already missed breakfast and was desperately in need of food. Once she arrived at the kitchens, she walked in. The workers all turned to her, bowing and curtseying. "How may we help you, Lady Granger?" One of the workers asked. "I just came in to get a quick snack," she replied. "What are you hungry for?" Asked another worker. Hermione thought for a moment. "Just a piece of fruit will suffice."

The worker nodded and walked over to a fruit basket. "We have oranges, apples, bananas..." The list went on. Hermione settled for an apple and thanked the workers as she left the kitchen with the fruit. She strolled through the halls, eating the apple. Her stomach felt so much better.

As she finished the apple, she approached a trash can. 'Thank god for that,' she thought before throwing the apple core away. She used a spell to make her hands not sticky and then proceeded to the library. Hermione realized she had left her book in her room, but decided that she could put it back the next time she wanted to go to the library.

Walking in, her mood changed from happy to fearful. Nolan stood there, looking through the books. He turned his head at the sound of Hermione's footsteps, his eyes landing on her. "Ms. Granger," he said, a smirk on his face. Hermione quickly pulled her wand out and pointed it at him, gripping it tightly in her hand. "Stay where you are. Don't come any closer or I'll hex you." Nolan just laughed.

"What did I ever do to you?" He asked, an evil look in his eyes. He came closer to her and Hermione didn't hesitate. "Stupify!" A light shot out of her wand and Nolan was thrown backwards into one of the bookshelves. He groaned in pain as Hermione began taking steps backward.

Nolan stood up. His nostrils flared in anger as Hermione quickly ran down the hall. Well, as best as she could in heels. Nolan was right behind her. Hermione was quickly losing her breath, but made it back into her room just before Nolan could reach her. She closed the door behind her and put on another locking spell, preventing Nolan from coming inside.

She was breathing heavily as she stepped away from the door. Hermione sat down on the bed, laying her wand down beside her. _"Wandering child, why so afraid?"_ Hermione gripped the blanket in her fists. "Get out of my head, Loki," she said aloud. _"Why do you push me away?"_ Hermione swallowed. "I said get out of my head." Silence. Hermione sighed as she pulled herself further up the bed, curling up into fetus position, her wand gripped tightly against her chest.

...

Three days had passed. There had been no trouble with Nolan since the library. Hermione was absolutely terrified of leaving her room. She hadn't told anyone about the library incident, though she knew that she should have. Tonight was Thor's ball. Hermione still hadn't seen the dress the tailor had made for her, which made her a bit nervous. Frigga had assured Hermione that the tailor knew what he was doing and that it would be fine. Hermione, while still hesitant about it, trusted Frigga.

Hermione was currently in her room with Faye and Molly. They were cleaning Hermione's room while she sat on her bed, reading the last chapter of **Midgardian Clockwork**. Nobody said anything, determined to finish their work before the ball that night. Faye finished vacuuming the carpet in the room as Molly began dusting the last shelf in the room. Hermione finished the book soon after. Closing the book, she sighed and put it on the table next to the bed. "May I take the book back to the library for you, Ms. Granger?" Faye asked.

Hermione smiled politely. "I would like that very much. Thank you, Faye." The maid curtseyed and took the book before leaving the room. Hermione turned to Molly as she finished the shelf. "Molly, can I ask you about Faye?" Hermione asked. Molly nodded her head. "Of course, Lady Granger." Hermione adjusted herself on the bed and made a spot on the bed for the maid to sit. Molly shook her head, but Hermione insisted. After Molly took a seat, Hermione began to ask questions. "Where did Faye come from? How did she get here?"

Molly thought for a moment. "Well, nobody knows much about her. The only thing anyone really knows about her is that she came from a big family. How she got here? I suppose she got here the same way everyone else did." Hermione tilted her head to the side. "How did they get here?" She asked.

"Most families are in debt or very poor. Most of the servants are working here to support their families. With Faye coming from a big family, I suppose she has to work the hardest to help out." Hermione looked down at her lap. She hadn't expected the situation to be so similar to those of the past back on Earth.

Faye came back in soon after. "Molly, we have work to do elsewhere," Faye aid, hands clasped in front of her. Molly nodded. Hermione said thank you to both of them before they walked out, leaving Hermione alone again.

...

Later that night, Hermione stood by her bed, looking down at the box that had been placed there. She knew that it was the dress, so why wasn't she opening it? "Come on, Hermione. It's just a dress. Frigga got the best tailor," she whispered to herself. Swallowing, she carefully removed the lid and her eyes widened. It was beautiful. She carefully pulled the dress out of the box. Her dark eyes scanned the red fabric as her hand slid down the side of the dress. Taking a deep breath, she got changed into the dress. It fit her perfectly. Hermione put on the red heels that she had gotten and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Faye and Molly came in soon after to do Hermione's hair and makeup.

When they finished, Hermione felt herself about to cry. She looked absolutely incredible. "You look beautiful," Faye said. Hermione looked at her, tears falling. "Thank you," she said, smiling. "Are you alright?" Molly asked. Hermione nodded. "I'm fine. These are tears of joy." She waved her hands near her face to try to stop crying before she ruined her makeup. Luckily, it worked. After making sure that she hadn't ruined her makeup, Hermione walked down to the ballroom. The hallways were completely empty, except for a few guards, none of which were Nolan. They bowed as Hermione passed them and Hermione gave them a smile in return.

Seeing the entrance to the ballroom, Hermione slowed her walking until she was at a complete stop. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You can do this, Hermione. You are Hermione Jean Granger, the brightest witch of her age. You are a Gryffindor, a survivor of the Battle of Hogwarts. This is nothing." Hermione smoothed out her dress and walked into the room. Heads turned as she entered the room, looking at her in awe. Hermione felt a little uncomfortable with all the attention that was being drawn to her.

Luckily, Frigga came over to her side. "You look lovely, Ms. Granger," Frigga said. Hermione smiled at her. "Thank you, your majesty. You look lovely as well." Frigga took Hermione's hand in hers. "Please, call me Frigga. Come, dear. Let me introduce you to some of the nobles." Hermione, while hesitant, followed Frigga to a group of four nobles. They were introduced as Julieus and his wife Carina, and Leonardo and his wife Iliana. The two couples had been close friends of Frigga and Odin for a very long time.

They were all very nice people. Leonardo even asked to dance with Hermione, which she kindly accepted. The two danced together, Hermione smiling the whole time. They were dancing to a rather fast song and Hermione was surprised by how much energy Leonardo had. At the end of the song, Leonardo bowed and Hermione curtseyed. Frigga soon approached them and asked if she cold steal Hermione away. Leonardo smiled at Frigga. "Of course, your majesty."

Frigga guided Hermione over to one of the corners of the room. "There was an incident in the library not that long ago. I was wondering if you knew anything about that." Frigga gave her look that said she knew what had happened. "I'm sorry, Frigga. I panicked-"

"I understand, Ms. Granger. Are you sure you don't want me to do anything? If Mr. Ferirson is harming you in any way, please let me know. His behavior is absolutely unacceptable." Hermione shook her head. "I assure you. Everything's fine." Frigga looked at her doubtfully, but questioned her no further. The room suddenly became silent, which Hermione noticed immediately. Frigga and Hermione turned their heads towards where everyone else was looking. Hermione's eyes widened as she saw the figure standing in the doorway.

Loki was here.

What made it worse was that he was looking right at her, though nobody seemed to noticed except for Frigga. Hermione swallowed as their eyes met. There was a look on his face, but Hermione couldn't tell what exactly it was. He definitely didn't look scared, that was for sure. Hermione didn't know what to do. She looked at Odin who had stopped paying attention to Loki and gone back to the conversation he was having with two men. It didn't seem to bother him, which immediately made Hermione suspicious.

Everyone else went back to their business, though Hermione could tell that many of them were still a bit weary of him being out of his cell. Loki strolled over to where Hermione and Frigga were standing, hands clasped behind his back. "Mother," Loki said, bowing his head. "Hello, Loki. Are you enjoying the ball?" Hermione was sure she had figured out what was going on.

Loki didn't smile. "For it being to celebrate Thor, I am quite impressed." His eyes landed on Hermione, whose arms were crossed. "It's even better knowing that you're here, Ms. Granger." Hermione wanted to roll her eyes, but stopped herself.

Loki seemed to know that Hermione wasn't fond of him being there. _'Trust me, love. I'm not very fond of being here either.'_ Hermione's eyes narrowed and Loki smirked. "I'll leave you two alone," Frigga said as she walked off to speak with some of the duchesses. Hermione's eyes followed Frigga before turning back to Loki, who had his hand out. "May i have this dance?" Hermione wanted to say no, but because she didn't want to draw too much attention(though she knew she would either way), she accepted and took his hand.

Loki led Hermione to the dance floor. The music wasn't too slow, which Hermione liked. It meant that she wouldn't be stuck dancing with him during a song that was meant for couples. Thanks to her dance lessons, Hermione avoided stepping on Loki's feet, not that she would mind. 'I could just step on your feet a few times and say it was an accident,' Hermione thought. She wasn't looking at him until his voice echoed in her mind. _'Watch your thoughts, little one. You wouldn't want anyone using them against you.'_ Loki smirked as Hermione's eyes narrowed again. "It's not polite to read someone's mind," Hermione whispered.

Loki gave her hand a slight squeeze. "Perhaps you should just stop thinking then."

Loki spun her around before dipping her slightly. Hermione's dress fanned out whenever she twirled, much to Loki's amusement. He seemed to enjoy the dress more than Hermione did. As the song ended, Loki bowed and Hermione curtseyed. Hermione was just about to run off when Loki grabbed her hand. "Please, one more dance," he said. Some of the people turned to look at them. Hermione sighed. "I suppose one more wouldn't hurt." She walked closer to him and waited for the music. It was a slow song. Loki smirked at Hermione as he placed both of his hands on her hips. Hermione placed her hands on his shoulders.

As the music played, the two danced in perfect harmony. Their eyes locked and Hermione felt herself falling deeper into them. As the two danced, it felt as if there was nobody else around them. It felt like they had been dancing forever before the song ended. She wanted it to end, but at the same time, she didn't. In that moment, she could see that there was more to Loki than she had realized. She would never admit that, though she had a feeling Loki already knew what she was thinking.

Once the song ended, Loki took Hermione's hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles before departing. Hermione let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She watched him as he walked away.

Hermione hung around for awhile. In that time, she had spoken to Thor, met some more of the guests, and tried some of the food, which tasted incredible. Afterwards, Hermione decided to head back to her room. She wasn't sure what time it was, but she knew that it was probably late since it was dark out and very cold.

As she walked down the halls, Hermione realized that it was silent and that she was completely alone. Hermione stopped once the lights in the hallway began to flicker. She shook her head and began walking, but was suddenly forced against the wall. There stood Nolan, his hands pressed against the wall on either side of her head to keep her in. She hadn't brought her wand, thinking that since Nolan hadn't been around, she wouldn't need it. She should've known better.

"Hello, Ms. Granger," Nolan said as he began twirling a piece of Hermione's hair between his fingers. Hermione was shaking again. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

"What do you want?" Hermione asked. Nolan smirked, seeing she was afraid. "Isn't it obvious?" He asked, smirking. "I want what I've wanted since I first met you." Hermione swallowed. "And what is that exactly?" Hermione already knew the answer and she hated it. Nolan chuckled darkly. "You." Hermione looked at the floor. She was absolutely terrified. Hermione felt like the worst Gryffindor ever. Gryffindors were supposed to be brave, unafraid. Hermione was quite the opposite in this particular moment.

"You can't have me," Hermione said, working up the courage to look at him. Nolan raised an eyebrow, the smirk never leaving his face. "Can't I?" Hermione tried to push him away, but Nolan was too strong. Hermione felt herself about to cry. Nolan could see this and began stroking her hair. "Hush, Ms. Granger. There's no need to cry." There was a taunting tone in his voice, which only made Hermione angry. "If I can't have you, who can? Surely, not Loki. While everyone else may think you're his second chance, I see something different. You're too good for him. What is he worth to you, huh? He's a monster, you know that."

"Funny how those words can be applied to you, as well." Hermione and Nolan turned to see Loki approaching them. "I admit that I've made some mistakes in the past, but given your position, you have no right to say those things." Nolan backed away from Hermione. "I recommend you stay away from Ms. Granger. If you don't, you will be punished severely." Nolan knew that wasn't an empty threat and immediately ran the other way.

"Are you alright?" Loki asked, turning to Hermione. Hermione nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine." She looked at him and gave him a small smile before continuing to walk to her room. "You know, a 'thank you' would be much appreciated," Loki called as Hermione walked down the hall. She didn't answer him, though Loki wasn't even sure if she had heard him. Of course, she had.

Hermione returned to her room and closed the door behind her, putting on five extra layers of her locking spell. After what had just happened, Hermione was no longer taking things lightly. The next time Nolan decided to come after her, she would be ready.


	13. Accro à Vous

Hermione was about to close the door to her room when she noticed Loki passing by and going into the room next door. She shut her door immediately and locked it. Loki was staying in the room right next to hers. 'How could this night get any worse?' She thought. She quickly got changed into the silky white nightgown she had fallen in love with and laid on her bed. After the events of tonight, Hermione wasn't sure if you would be able to sleep, or that she even wanted to. Luckily, all that dancing made it easy for her to pass out.

...

Hermione slept in the next morning, too tired from everything that had happened the night before. She slowly opened her eyes, but turned away immediately as the sun was too bright for her liking. She grabbed her wand and used magic to pull the curtains shut. When the lighting was tolerable, Hermione stood up from the bed and got ready for the day. She changed into a pair of grey skinny jeans and a white t-shirt, wanting to be casual and comfortable today. The red dress she had worn last night was hanging in the closet. Even on the hanger, the dress looked absolutely beautiful. Hermione couldn't help but smile as she admired every detail of the dress.

She wasn't sure what time it was, but she knew it was late enough that she had missed breakfast again, not that she really minded, especially if Loki was going to be there. That reminded her of how he had saved her from Nolan last night. Sighing, she closed the door of the closet and walked over to the table by her bed to grab her wand. It wasn't there. Hermione began to panic.

She began frantically searching for the wand in the room; under the bed, under pillows, in the drawers, etc. She found nothing. Hermione's heart raced. Nobody was able to come into her room without her permission. She was freaking out. How could her wand just disappear? It had been there only a few minutes ago. Hermione tried hard to calm down, but she found herself unable to. Her wand was her only defense in case Nolan came around again. That's when she froze. What if Nolan had taken her wand? How would he though? Her door was locked. The only way he could have possibly gotten in without her noticing was if he had managed to shrink himself or something and get in before she closed her door last night. The thought scared her.

If he had taken her wand, he had to still be in the room somewhere. Hermione began digging through things, hoping to find a mini Nolan running around with her wand. She didn't find anything. Hermione, though terrified of leaving the room without her wand, opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind her. As expected, the hall was empty, except for one particular god who was standing at the end of the hallway, looking out a window. He leaned on the wall, legs crossed at the ankles. Hermione slowly approached him, being as quiet as she could. "There's no reason to be silent, Ms. Granger. I can sense your presence with ease." Hermione stopped in her tracks.

"That's not creepy at all," Hermione said. Loki smirked, but didn't reply, nor did he turn around. "It's a wonderful morning, isn't it?" He asked. Hermione didn't answer. "The sky is as beautiful as ever and oh, how I miss the fresh air." Loki closed his eyes and inhaled the air around him. "It's so stuffy in here," he said, finally turning around. "You weren't at breakfast this morning," Loki stated.

Hermione shrugged. "I slept in. After last night, I was really tired." Loki raised an eyebrow. "I see. Would you like to explain exactly what happened last night between you and that guard?" Hermione stayed silent. "Has this happened before?" Loki took a step closer to her.

Hermione remained silent, though she could tell Loki was getting slightly angry. "Answer me," he said harshly. Hermione crossed her arms. "What happened between me and Nolan is none of your business." Loki smirked. "None of my business, eh? Who was the god that saved you from the guard's advances last night? Hmm?" Hermione took a step back each time Loki took a step near her. Soon, her back hit the wall, Loki standing not that far from her. Loki smirked as Hermione crossed her arms, keeping some space between the two of them.

"Would you mind telling me," Loki began, reaching into his leather coat, "what this device is?" Hermione's eyes widened as she looked at the object in his hand. Her wand. "How did you get that?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. "I asked you a question. Answer me first," Loki said, holding the wand out of Hermione's reach as she had tried to grab it out of his hands.

"It's my only defense in case Nolan comes around again, that's what it is. Now, give it back!" Hermione tried to get the wand again, but Loki pulled it further away from her, chuckling. "This _stick_ is your defense from that foolish guard? Surely, you're joking." He grinned as Hermione looked at him with anger. "Give me my wand, Loki," she said one more time. "How did you even get it?"

"A simple cloning spell mixed with a bit of an illusion. It's called magic, love." He twirled the wand between his fingers, the tips tracing over the vine detail on the wand. "And I thought wands would have been more spectacular, but I see now they are nothing more than a piece of wood, chiseled down to a stick with unique details on it. Loki handed her the wand, which Hermione immediately took from his hands before he could pull it away from her again.

Loki chuckled. "What is so funny?" Hermione asked, putting her wand in the pocket of her jeans. "I find it hard to believe that you use that stick as defense. It won't protect you." Hermione crossed her arms. "That's real funny," she said sarcastically. "I've had my wand for years and every time I've been in any kind of danger, my wand was what helped me survive. So, this 'stick' can protect me, no matter what you think." Loki chuckled again.

"There's no need to get so defensive, love." Hermione couldn't move, as her back was still pressed against the wall. "Don't call me 'love.'" Loki, despite there already not being a lot of space between them, took a step closer to Hermione. Their faces were extremely close. Hermione swallowed from how close they were, not meeting his eyes. Loki smirked before backing away from her. "I hope to see you during lunch, Ms. Granger." With that, Loki disappeared.

Hermione shook her head, rolling her eyes. She needed to talk to Thor about Loki. Hermione began walking through the halls, which were always empty, except for a few guards and maids. Luckily, none of them were Nolan.

It was awhile before Hermione ran into Thor. She must have been walking around for at least twenty minutes. "Ms. Granger," Thor said as he approached her, a grin on his face. "How are you? You missed breakfast this morning." Hermione smiled politely at him. "I'm alright. I was tired after last night and i just couldn't get myself to wake up." Hermione moved a piece of her hair behind her ear as Thor nodded. "I'm not surprised," he said. "Asgardian parties are usually very tiring. It's not often that we have a Midgardian amongst us."

Hermione didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. "Well, I had fun last night. I hope I did okay," Hermione said, playing with the ring on her pinky finger. Thor shook his head, that grin still plastered on his face. "You did fine. All of the guests really liked you."

Hermione was happy to hear that. "Anything I can do for you?" Thor asked, causing Hermione to remember why she had gone looking for Thor in the first place. "Yes, actually. i wanted to talk to you about Loki." Thor furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Loki? What about him?" Hermione took a deep breath. "I just wanted to know more about him. My friend gave me a book that talked about him, but I didn't really get to read much about him."

"A friend of yours?" Thor asked. He crossed his arms and looked at Hermione. "Would this friend of yours happen to be name Luna?"

"Actually, yes. You know her?" Hermione asked, clasping her hands together in front of her. "Of course. She's a very sweet girl. She's very intelligent as well." Hermione agreed with that. Luna was very nice and intelligent, too. There was a reason that she was in Ravenclaw. Then again, Hermione was extremely intelligent as well and she had been sorted into Gryffindor, though she had almost been put into Ravenclaw.

"How did you two meet?" Hermione asked. "Well, it was on accident," Thor said, moving over to lean on one of the golden walls. "When my father banished me from Asgard, I met a woman named Jane. i fell in love with her. Unfortunately, I lost contact with her for awhile, but in that time, I met Luna. She was walking down one of the streets of London when I ran into her. I'm not really sure what she was doing. She said something about... what was it?" Thor thought to himself for a moment, trying to remember what Luna had been doing when they met. "Nargles?"

Hermione giggled. "I'm not surprised. Luna's always been into those kinds of things. I have no idea what nargles are. She's mentioned them before, but after doing a ton of research, I still couldn't find anything about them. for the longest time, I thought Luna was just making things up. Luna gave me proof that nargles were real. of course, I'm still not really sure what they are. If I ever see her again, I'll have to ask her."

Hermione couldn't help the smile on her face. It made sense now why Luna knew who Hermione had been talking about when she mentioned seeing Loki in the Mirror of Erised. "When you find out, let me know," Thor said.

After calming down, Thor spoke up. "Anyway, is there anything specific you wish to know about him?" Hermione shrugged. "I guess I want to know how it all happened," she replied. "How did Loki become the horrible person Odin claimed he was?" Thor sighed. "My father lied to Loki about his true parentage. It wasn't until Frost Giants attacked that Loki learned the truth."

"The truth?" Hermione asked. Thor nodded. He began walking, Hermione following behind him. "Loki was born to Laufey, a Frost Giant. After killing Laufey, my father found Loki. He disguised him using magic and brought him here to Asgard where he grew up believing that Odin was truly his father. Loki was furious with Odin and soon turned on me as he realized that Odin would never have allowed him to rule Asgard because he was a Frost Giant."

Hermione looked at her hands. "He felt betrayed," she said quietly. Thor had heard her. "I suppose so." The two stood in the middle of the hallway, eyes facing the golden floor. "Loki, regardless of what he has done, is still my brother. I know that me and him haven't exactly seen eye to eye recently, but I believe that one day, that will change." Hermione nodded, but said nothing in return. Slowly, her eyes shifted to Thor. "Does Odin believe that I can help Loki?" She asked.

"He didn't seem bothered by Loki being out of his cell at the ball. Is he giving Loki a chance to live again because of me?" Hermione had had her suspicions since last night and she need them to be confirmed.

"My mother has convinced him to see things from her perspective. He's starting to see what the rest of us have seen. If there is anyone out there who can save Loki, it's you." Hermione sighed. It seemed to her that everyone saw her as Loki's saving grace, the last hope for Loki. It seemed that everyone believed she was capable of returning Loki to the light.

Hermione shook her head. "Why me? What is it about me that makes everyone think I can help your brother?" Thor cleared his throat. "You are intelligent and brave. I think those are some of the main reasons. You also seem to be the kind of person who isn't influenced or deceived easily by others," he answered. "Loki is a trickster and he's very manipulative. You may be the only female so far that hasn't fallen ill to his charms."

"I supposed I've always been that way," Hermione said, shrugging. She knew that wasn't true. She remembered when she was younger and had fallen for Gilderoy Lockhart, her Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Of course, she had had a thing for him before he became a teacher, but every female tin the wizarding community had had a thing for him. That had changed after the truth about him was revealed.

Hermione rubbed the back of her neck. "Any other reasons?" She asked. Thor thought for a moment. "It appears that you have seen some horrible things in you life. Times have been dark in your world. Despite all of that, you have always been loyal to your friends and have never betrayed them, nor have you switched to the side of evil. That is useful, especially when it comes to Loki. While he may be a slightly changed man, he will always be the god of mischief and from what I can tell, you sense that he is not exactly someone who can be completely trusted."

That was more than true. Hermione had been getting a strange feeling about him, more so now that he was living next door to her. "Should I be worried?" Hermione asked after several minutes of silence. Thor hadn't expected her to ask that. "I'm not entirely sure. While my brother is manipulative, you seem like the kind of person who wouldn't be affected by his tricks. I think you'll be fine."

"I hate to cut this short, but I am needed elsewhere. Have a good day, Ms. Granger." With that, Thor walked down the hall, leaving Hermione alone once again.

She sighed, staring down at the floor. She didn't know what to do about Loki. Hermione was still freaked out by the fact that Loki had somehow gotten into her room that morning and took her wand without her noticing. He definitely was sneaky, which Hermione didn't like. Finally, after thinking to herself, she started walking down the hall. She decided to go down to the library and read for awhile. It hadn't been that long since the last time she had been in there, but she needed something to keep her occupied.

Hermione silently walked through the halls. She was still worried that Nolan would come out at some point and attack her, despite Loki's warning to leave her alone. After a few twists and turns, Hermione made it to the library. She entered the room with a smile on her face. The library was her favorite place in the entire universe, which wasn't surprising at all. What was surprising was the smooth voice of the god of mischief, which Hermione had not expected. She let out a shriek and drew her wand, pointing it at the god who had a smirk on his face. "I didn't mean to frighten you," he said, chuckling.

Hermione lowered her wand. "What are you doing here?" She asked harshly. She hadn't meant to sound so rude. "What does it look like I'm doing?" He asked calmly, holding up a book. "I'm reading. That's what you do in a library." Hermione rolled her eyes and walked over to one of the shelves. Her eyes scanned over the titles of the books, trying to decide which one she wanted to read first. She heard Loki stand up from his seat and stroll over to her. He stared down at the back of her head for a moment, but moved his gaze up to the books behind Hermione as she turned around. "Can i help you?" She asked.

"No, but can I help you? You seem to be having a hard time deciding what to read. Perhaps I can be of assistance," Loki said, placing his book down on a table near the shelf. "I think I'll manage," Hermione said. She walked away from him and moved to a different shelf. Loki smirked and looked over at Hermione. "Is something wrong?" He asked. Hermione didn't answer. "You seem very hostile towards me, which is odd since you don't even really know me."

"I know enough," Hermione said, pulling out a book from the shelf she was looking through. Loki raised an eyebrow. "Do you? What is it exactly that you know?" He asked, slowly approaching her. Hermione turned to look at him, but said nothing. She shook her head and walked past him, but her grabbed her wrist tightly in his hand. "Don't ignore me," he said harshly. "Let go of me, Loki," Hermione said, narrowing her eyes at him. He let go of her wrist and watched her walk out of the library.

Hermione quickly returned to her room, practically slamming the door shut. Some of the stuff in the room shook and Hermione was sure that some of the stuff in the room had fallen. She pulled out her wand and used magic to put the room back in order. Hermione tucked her wand away in the drawer next to her bed and sat down. She crossed her legs and opened the book. Hermione couldn't stay focused on her reading. Her mind kept wandering to Loki. She shouldn't have been so rude to him. He had been in the library first.

Sighing, she closed her book and stood up. She needed to apologize to him for being so rude. Hermione placed the book on the table next to the bed and walked over to the door. As soon as she opened it, she stopped. Loki was standing there, arm raised. It appeared that he had been about to knock on her door.

Loki lowered his arm, placing his hand behind his back. He cleared his throat. "I came to apologize," he said. Hermione raised an eyebrow. He was coming to apologize to her? "Apologize? For what?" Hermione asked. "Your wrist. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's fine. I was actually coming to apologize to you. I didn't mean to be so rude to you."

Loki shook his head. "I accept your apology, though there really was no need for it. I'm still getting used to being around good people again." Hermione nodded. The two stood there in awkward silence. "I suppose I should get back to my reading," Loki said. "I will see you at dinner, Ms. Granger."

Hermione watched him as he walked away. He was going to be at dinner? 'Great,' she thought before closing her door.

...

Awhile later, Hermione was heading down to the dining hall to eat with Frigga, Odin, and their sons. She had gotten a lot of reading done since earlier that day. She was a bit nervous being in the hall alone, but Nolan hadn't been around lately. Hermione was sure that she had nothing to worry about. As she entered the dining hall, Hermione saw the royal family sitting at the large table. Their food had gone untouched, which Hermione knew was because they had been waiting for her. Hermione sat in her usual spot next to Frigga. Loki was quick to stand up from the table. He walked over to Hermione and politely pushed in her chair for her before sitting back down in his spot. The gesture had Hermione's heart pounding in her chest, but she said nothing. Once Loki had taken his seat, Odin spoke up. "It's nice to be here with my wonderful wife, my two sons, and of course, our guest of honor." His gaze turned to Hermione who gave a small smile. "This feels right, does it not? All of us here together?" Frigga nodded, a smile gracing her features.

Thor had a look of pride on his face, but when did he not? Hermione noticed that Loki's face held no emotion, which didn't surprise Hermione at all. The group began eating their meal, sitting in silence for most of the time. "So, Ms. Granger," Odin began. "You've been here for over a month now, haven't you?" Hermione looked up from her dessert. "Has it really been that long? I didn't even realize." Frigga smiled at Hermione as they made eye contact. "What do you think of Asgard?" He asked.

"It's very beautiful," Hermione said. "And the food is great." Loki smirked as he continued to enjoy his ice cream. Hermione noticed, but didn't say anything. Odin nodded, pleased with Hermione's answer.

For the rest of the meal, there was silence. Hermione was a bit unnerved by it, but chose to keep that to herself. It didn't take long before they went their separate ways. Well, almost. After Frigga and Odin left, Thor took off to do whatever it was he usually did, leaving Hermione and Loki alone in the dining hall. "Ms. Granger. Since we are heading in the same direction, might I walk you back to your room?" Hermione didn't want to be rude, so she agreed. The two walked back in silence, but she could feel Loki's eyes on her.

"So, you are enjoying your stay in Asgard?" Hermione turned her head. "Yes, I suppose."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "You suppose? Does that imply that you are not actually enjoying yourself?" Hermione shook her head. "Oh, no. I've had a good time here, truly. It's just that I miss my home and my friends. Surely, they must be worried about me." Loki nodded.

"I don't doubt it. You have been gone for quite some time now." Loki stopped walking once they approached Hermione's room. "Thank your for walking me back," Hermione said, turning to him. Loki bowed his head for a brief moment. "Of course. It's the least I could do after what happened earlier."

"There was really no need for you to apologize, Loki. It was my fault." Loki shook his head. "It doesn't matter now. Have a good night." Loki walked to his room, gently closing it behind him. Hermione sighed and walked into her room, closing the door behind her. She was really tired. She hoped that she wouldn't miss breakfast again, but that was hardly on her mind. Hermione quickly changed into her pajamas and laid on her bed. As soon as Hermione's head hit the pillow, her eyes closed and she fell into a deep sleep. That night, she dreamed about Loki.


	14. Christmas in Asgard

Lots of time had passed since the library incident between Hermione and Loki. In that time, Hermione and Loki had gotten closer. Every night after dinner, Loki would walk Hermione back to her room and the two would just talk. Hermione felt like she was really getting to know Loki, but she knew that wasn't true. As much as she wanted to believe that she was starting to figure Loki out, she knew that she wasn't even close.

Loki had started to tell her some things about him, but not much. Based on what the mythology book had said, Loki was a very complicated person. Hermione knew that part was correct. He _was_ a very complicated person and definitely wasn't open about everything. It annoyed her how easily Loki could read her, but she couldn't understand him in the slightest. Hermione almost wanted to demand that he tell her everything about him, but she knew that wouldn't work out well.

The month was now December. Snow had already started falling in Asgard. Hermione thought it was beautiful. The entire castle had been decorated to look like a winter wonderland. Hermione couldn't help the smile that was on her face every time she walked through the halls. Christmas had always been her favorite holiday.

It had only been a month since Odin and Frigga announced a Christmas ball. Hermione was excited. The Yule Ball back at Hogwarts had been a dream come true for Hermione... until Ron had ruined it. It had all worked out in the end, clearly. Everyone had been busy getting ready for the ball. Frigga had insisted that Hermione get fitted for a dress for the ball a few weeks before. In the end, Hermione ended up with a beautiful green colored dress. When she saw it, she couldn't believe her eyes. Hermione had fallen in love with dress immediately. She knew the color of the dress had only been chosen because of Loki, but she couldn't deny that the dress truly was beautiful.

Loki had insisted that the dress be green. He wouldn't allow Hermione to wear any other color for this ball, especially since she was going with him. When Loki had asked her to go to the Christmas ball with him, she felt awkward. He had chosen to do so during dinner one night. With Frigga, Odin, and Thor watching, she couldn't say no.

Hermione had been wondering whether or not she should have regretted that decision, but she knew it was too late to turn back now. The ball was on Christmas Eve night, which was only one day away. Hermione had decided to go into the town and by some Christmas presents for some of the people. She had been given some money and was currently walking through the small Asgardian village. She had only one more gift to buy and it was for Loki. The only thing she had really learned about Loki that had caught her attention was that he enjoyed reading. So, she went to a small bookshop in the village and bought a book that she remembered Loki telling her about. He had been wanting it for a long time. Once Hermione returned to the castle, she immediately went to her room and started wrapping the presents.

She had just finished when she heard a knock on the door. She quickly placed the presents underneath the bed and grabbed a book before sitting in a chair and turning to a random page. "Come in," she said as soon as she was settled. The door opened slowly and Loki's head peeked in. "I hope I'm not interrupting your reading, Ms. Granger," Loki said as he noticed the open book in her hands. "Oh, not at all. Did you want something?" Hermione asked.

"I was just wondering if you would like to take a walk with me. The snow has made the garden look quite lovely." Hermione held up the book. "Sorry. Maybe another time?" Loki nodded. "Of course. I understand. I will see you at dinner." Loki walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind him. Hermione felt bad. She should have accepted, but she couldn't. Hermione put the book down and grabbed the presents out from underneath the bed. Eventually, she got out of her room and headed down to the ballroom where a giant Christmas tree had been placed. All presents were to be placed under the tree.

It was hard for Hermione to carry all these presents since she wasn't very strong physically. She was about halfway there when one of the presents fell from the stack. Before she could react, Thor appeared out of nowhere and caught the present before it could hit the ground. "I believe you dropped this?" He said, standing to his full height. Hermione let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Thor." The god chuckled.

"I could help you, you know. You have a lot of presents there." Hermione smiled. "Could you?' Thor nodded, taking some of the presents from her. The two walked down to the ballroom and carefully placed the presents underneath the tree. "Thanks for the help," Hermione said once she placed the last gift under the tree. "It was no problem," he replied. The two smiled at each other.

"What's going on here?" The two turned their heads and saw Loki coming towards them. He looked angry. "Thor was just helping me bring these presents down." Thor nodded his head as he looked at Loki reassuringly. Loki didn't bother to look at Hermione. "Is that all that is happening?" Loki asked. Hermione crossed her arms as she spoke. "Would it matter if it wasn't?" Loki's head turned to look at Hermione who looked just as irritated as he did. "You are my date to the Christmas ball. I simply don't want anyone to change that. You are _mine._ "

Hermione's eyes narrowed at Loki's words. "I don't belong to anyone, especially not you! And now I'm not anyone's date." Hermione stormed out of the room, leaving the two gods alone. "This is all your fault," Loki hissed. "How is this my fault?" Thor asked. "You're the one making a big deal out of nothing. All I did was help her bring the presents here for the ball tomorrow night." Loki sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as his eyes closed. He knew Thor was telling the truth. "I messed up, didn't I?"

Thor nodded. "Yes, but I'm sure she wasn't being serious. You should still go apologize to her though," Thor said. Loki knew Thor was right and went to do just that.

Once he arrived at Hermione's door, he knocked gently. "Ms. Granger, are you in there?" Nothing. "Ms. Granger, please. I'm sorry for what I said. You're right. You don't belong to anyone. I'm sorry."

"I don't want to hear it, Loki. Nothing you say is going to make me change my mind. I'm not going to the ball tomorrow night." Loki raised an eyebrow. "With me?" He asked. "At all," Hermione replied. "Now, go away!" Loki sighed and went to his room.

Hermione didn't go to dinner that night. She didn't want to be anywhere near Loki and she certainly didn't want to see his face. Instead, Hermione decided to spend some time with Faye and Molly. They hadn't told Faye about their conversation from awhile ago. "So, are you excited for the ball tomorrow?" Faye asked. Hermione sighed as he laid back on the bed. "I'm not going."

"What?" The two turned to look at Hermione. "I thought you were going with Prince Loki," Molly said. "I was," Hermione replied. "But Loki and I got into a bit of a fight."

"So, you aren't going at all?" Faye asked. "Even though you got into a fight with him, that shouldn't stop you from going." Hermione's eyes closed. "I just don't want to see him right now." The maids shrugged and went back to their work, leaving awhile later.

 _'Please, Ms. Granger. I really am sorry for what I said earlier. I overreacted, I know.'_ Hermione clenched her teeth together. "Get out of my head, Loki."

...

It was now Christmas Eve. The ball was tonight and Hermione was still not going. Loki had stopped trying to get Hermione to forgive him, which Hermione was grateful for.

Later in the day, Thor knocked on Hermione's door. "Ms. Granger, we need to talk about Loki." Hermione sighed and opened the door. "I don't want to talk about him. I don't even want to see him. Tell him there's no point in sending you to try to get me to forgive him." Hermione was about to shut the door when Thor grabbed onto it, keeping the door from closing.

"Loki didn't send me to talk to you. I came here on my own accords." Hermione sighed and let him into her room. "Loki's very upset about yesterday," Thor said, closing the door behind him. "He should be," Hermione replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You know Loki is a bit... unstable. Can you really blame him? He's been forever affected by the truth of his adoption. He's only been in love once, Ms. Granger. And that girl broke his heart. He's very possessive because of that." Hermione looked at the ground as Thor continued. "He also gets jealous very easily. I understand why he's the way he is. Growing up, I always got all the attention. Loki was never the kind of person who made friends easily. He always felt unwanted. You may be the only good thing that's happened to him in a long time."

"I know you may not believe it, Ms. Granger, but Loki really does care about you and he is truly sorry for what he said yesterday. Even if I haven't convinced you to go with him, I still think you should at least attend the ball tonight. It really will be a night you'll never forget."

With that, Thor left the room, leaving Hermione to alone to think about what he had said.

...

The entire castle was decorated with garland, snowflakes, and different colored lights. It really did remind Hermione of the yule ball back at Hogwarts. She stood in front of the mirror, looking at herself in the green dress. She couldn't believe that she was really doing this. Before she could change her mind, Hermione was out the door and down the hall. The decorations really did not reflect her mood, but she tried to put on a smile as she arrived at the ballroom.

She took a deep breath and turned around to go back to her room, but stopped when a light shined down on her. Hermione put a small smile on her face as her name was called. People clapped, and bowed, and curtsied as Hermione stepped fully into the beautifully decorated room. She knew it was too late to turn back now.

Loki's head had turned when Hermione's name was called. He had looked at her in awe. She really did look beautiful in that dress.

Hermione saw Loki slowly approaching her and she wanted to run away, but instead, she stood her ground and waited for Loki to stand by her. "I didn't think you would change your mind, but here you are. You really came," Loki said. "Your brother convinced me to come. You have him to thank for me being here," Hermione replied as she linked their arms.

Loki looked down at their linked arms, a small smile appearing on his thin lips. "I shall do so later on tonight. Until then, may I have this dance?" Loki bowed to her, offering his hand, which Hermione took. The two danced the night away. Hermione, even though she was still mad at him, couldn't deny that Loki looked rather handsome. She also couldn't deny that she was having a good time. At some point, the two had stopped dancing and gone over to the tables in the back of the room where many Asgardian dishes were being served. The two enjoyed their food quietly as the music changed to a slow song.

Loki threw their plates away in the trashcan and offered Hermione his hand again. "You're lucky I was finished with that," Hermione said jokingly as she took his hand again. As the song played, the two stared into each others eyes. Hermione had only now realized just how beautiful Loki's eyes were. She couldn't help but get lost in their hues. As they danced together, the people around them faded and they were alone. Hermione's heart beat against her chest as they stared into each others eyes. "You look lovely tonight, Ms. Granger. Green is a good color on you," Loki said softly. Hermione didn't quite feel like herself, which she didn't mind. The two had gotten physically closer to each other. Hermione could feel Loki's breath on her skin from how close they were. Loki slowly leaned down, their faces barely inches apart. The two were about to connect their lips when the song ended.

The surroundings returned and the two were no longer alone. Hermione felt like she was in a trance for several seconds after the music ended. "Ae you alright?" Loki asked, noticing her state. Hermione nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright." Her eyes shifted to the giant clock in the room. "I should head back to my room and get some sleep," Hermione said. "I'll go with you," Loki replied, about to follow her.

"No," Hermione said. "You stay and enjoy yourself. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight." Loki really wanted to go with her, but decided to let her be. Hermione walked out of the room and down the halls.

Her mind was all over the place. She couldn't get Loki out of her head. What had just happened between them? Hermione wasn't sure. Her heart was beating loudly in her chest and her breath was coming out short.

The halls were silent as she walked back to her room, her dress slightly following behind her. A noise pulled her out of her thoughts and she immediately turned her head. She saw nothing. Hermione had left her wand in her room, thinking she wouldn't need it tonight. Now, she wasn't so sure. She slowly continued walking down the hall, but heard a noise once again. Her heart was racing. Now, she was afraid. As she looked around, she saw something move from the corner of her eye. Her head turned and her eyes widened. A figure stepped out from behind a thing of armor, a smirk on its face.

Hermione examined him as she backed up until her back hit the wall behind her. The creature's skin was a sickly pale of white and its eyes were almost black. The creature's ears were also pointy. Recalling what she had read from the mythology book, she knew what kind of creature was standing before her; it was a dark elf.


	15. The Dark Elves

Hermione stood there, frozen in fear as she stared at the creature coming towards her. With her back pressed against the wall, she was at the mercy of the elf. She really needed to get it through her head just how dangerous Asgard was. The elf had a dangerous glint in his eyes, causing Hermione to shudder in fear. "What do you want?" Hermione asked, trying to find the courage she needed to get out of this situation.

The elf chuckled, its steps ceasing for a moment to answer Hermione's question. "What we want is something you cannot give us. What we want is our power back, our treasure. We want what was taken from us." Hermione swallowed as the elf began to move towards her again. "Why are you here?" Hermione's hands clenched into fists, preparing to fight the only way she could without her wand. She hadn't punched anyone since third year when Malfoy was being the annoying brat he was. He had deserved it, of course.

"We've come to take back what is ours and what is ours... is here on Asgard." Hermione chose that moment to take a swing at the elf. She punched him hard in the face, causing the elf to stumble backwards. It took only a few seconds for the elf to straighten himself. When he adjusted himself, he used his magic to conjure a weapon. He took several swings at Hermione, missing each time as Hermione had moved away from the wall. The fight between them lasted for only a few minutes before Hermione was forced to the ground. The elf stood above her, a wild look on his face as he held the weapon tightly in his hands, the sharp end just near her throat. He raised the weapon up, preparing to end Hermione's life. The elf cried out as a dagger went through his body. The weapon was dropped right in front of Hermione.

Hermione watched as the elf fell on its side, trembling as the blood poured out of its body. Hermione turned to look at her rescuer. Loki. He helped her up onto her feet, but didn't let go of her. Instead, he pulled her close to his body and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "This is the second time I have saved your life, Ms. Granger. I do hope there won't be a third." Hermione bit her lip, eyes looking down at the ground. "I'll keep that in mind," Hermione said, keeping her voice steady. Loki didn't pull away. When Hermione tried to walk away, Loki pulled her back to him and hugged her tightly. "Please, don't let there be a third time."

He sounded desperate, like he was begging there to not be a third time. There was an explosion, followed by a large group of Dark Elves. Loki and Hermione turned their heads, watching as the elves passed. Loki turned to Hermione. "Go back to your room and lock the door tightly. Do not let anyone in," Loki said.

"I'm coming with you," Hermione replied. She started to follow him, but Loki turned to face her. "No. You could get hurt. Do as I say and go back to your room." Loki ran down the hall, conjuring more daggers in his hands. Hermione bit her lip, but went back to her room anyway. When she got there, she quickly changed into a pair of jeans, tennis shoes, and a t-shirt before grabbing her wand and running out the door. She made sure to put the protection spell on the door before she went down the halls to fight.

Hermione ran down the halls, casting spells at every elf she passed. Eventually, she got to where the others were fighting the large group of elves. Odin, Thor, Loki, the warriors three, and Sif were all there. Hermione joined them, wand tightly in her hands. "I thought I told you to stay in your room," Loki said as she stood next to him. "I wanted to help," Hermione said.

She looked around before looking at the others. "Where's Frigga?" Hermione asked. Thor threw his hammer, knocking down some of the elves coming towards them. "She's with Jane," the god replied. Hermione had met Jane earlier during the Christmas ball. All she had really learned about the girl was that she was a scientist and was in a complicated relationship with Thor.

After awhile, the elves had been taken out. Everyone was tired and many people had been killed. "Let's go," Thor said. The group followed Thor to where Frigga and Jane were, but when they got there, it was too late. Hermione cried out as she looked down at Frigga's body. Her neck had been snapped, there was no doubt about it. Loki held Hermione as she cried. "Shhh. Shhh." Loki couldn't help the tear that fell from his eyes as he looked at his mother's body. She was the only one that had ever truly cared about him out of the two of his parents. Now, she was gone.

Jane ran over to Thor. He hugged her tightly. "Thor. I am so sorry," she said, seeing the tears begin to form in her lover's eyes. Thor looked down at Jane. "It's alright," he replied. "It's not your fault." That seemed to set something off in Loki as he had let go of Hermione, a look of anger on his face. "Oh, but it is her fault." He was practically yelling. "If you hadn't brought her here, our mother would still be alive! It is entirely her fault. The Dark Elves came her for her, Thor. She's the one they want. If it wasn't for this _pathetic_ mortal, mother wouldn't be dead!"

Loki's nostrils were flaring. Thor stood in front of Jane protectively in case Loki tried to hurt her. "Loki, don't do anything you'll regret," Thor warned. Hermione wasn't paying attention to what was going on. She thought she would be used to everyone dying by now, but she wasn't. She had only known Frigga for a few months, but the two had become close. Thor looked down at Hermione before looking up at a still angry Loki. "Brother, I think you may want to take care of the girl," he said, gesturing to Hermione. Loki's head turned and his expression changed as his eyes landed on the crying witch. He leaned down and held her close, saying soothing words as he rubbed her arm. "Let's get you out of here," Loki whispered before helping her up.

The two walked out and down to Hermione's room. Even after Hermione was inside, Loki didn't leave. "May I stay with you?" Hermione couldn't say no, not because she was crying and couldn't find her voice, but because she knew how hurt Loki was. Hermione laid on her bed while Loki sat down in the chair. The two stayed quiet, thinking to themselves. After a long while of silence, Loki spoke up. "I'm sorry about what I said about Jane. I know you don't like that kind of stuff."

Hermione looked over at him. "Honestly, I wasn't even paying attention... but I understand if you said anything horrible. You're just as upset about losing Frigga as I am. She was your mother."

"I still believe it's Jane's fault that she is dead. She has what the elves want. She's the one harnessing the power that the elves claim belongs to them." Hermione sat up. "She's human, isn't she. How could she harness a power as strong as that?" Loki's eyes shifted to her. "You know of the strength of that power?" He asked, eyebrow raised. Hermione shrugged. "I have a pretty good idea of how strong it is. If it wasn't strong, why would those creatures care about it so much?"

Loki looked down at the floor. The conversation ended there. That night, Loki ended up staying in Hermione's room.

...

"What I don't understand is how the Dark Elves got in. I had the castle heavily guarded last night because of the ball." Odin was pacing back and forth, standing before his sons and several others. "Loki, I've had enough of your tricks. You've gone too far. Not only have you caused the destruction of this kingdom, but the death of many citizens, including your mother!" Odin was furious.

Loki's fists clenched. "Do you really believe that this was my doing? I've done many things, father, but this attack was not placed by me. I have no connections with the elves, no deals made, nothing. I understand why you would believe me the culprit, but I was not the one who caused this." Odin didn't look like he believed Loki. "Do you really expect me to believe that you had nothing to do with this? Not only are you the god of mischief, but you are also the god of lies."

"Loki couldn't have done this," Hermione spoke up. Heads turned towards her, even Loki's. "Oh? And why not?" Odin asked, crossing his arms.

"After everything that's happened since I got here, there's no way Loki could have done this. He's changed and you know it." Hermione looked at Loki, a smirk on his face. He seemed amused by the fact that she was defending him. Odin looked between the two and sighed. "Very well. Until the culprit of this attack is caught, we must all be on our guard."

After everyone was dismissed, Odin walked up to Hermione. "I do hope you're right about Loki, Ms. Granger." Hermione looked into Odin's eye, her voice steady. "You know that I am. You know that Loki is a changed man. I can see that you do." Odin sighed. "For both of our sake's, I hope we are seeing correctly. Loki has always been good at deceiving people. I wouldn't be surprised if he was doing the same to you."

"Trust me, I would know if he was," Hermione said calmly. Odin nodded his head before walking away. Hermione watched him walk out of the room before doing the same.

Hermione had only taken a few steps before she was grabbed and pushed gently against the wall. Her eyes stared into Loki's as he slowly released his hold on her. "What?" Hermione asked once Loki let go of her. "You defended me in there. Why?" His voice was soft and gentle. He wasn't angry. "Because I know you're innocent. I know the attack wasn't your fault."

"How do you know it wasn't my doing? You heard what Odin said. I'm the god of lies, I always have been." Hermione could see that Loki was upset by those words. "Don't think about it, Loki. Don't think about what he said. You may be the god of lies, but I can see through every lie you tell. You didn't cause this. Frigga's death was not your fault."

Loki sighed, his eyes staring at the golden floors of the castle. Hermione bit her lip as she looked at the god. "Thank you," Hermione whispered. Loki's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "For what?" His eyes were staring into hers again, searching them, trying to figure out what Hermione was going to say. "For last night. For saving me from the elf and for trying to calm me down after... you know." Loki nodded, knowing exactly what Hermione was talking about. "Of course. Well, I couldn't just let you die, which is exactly what would have happened had I not come to your rescue."

Hermione nodded. "Are you okay though?" Hermione's voice had a tone of concern in it. "Of course. There's no need to worry about me, Ms. Granger. I'll be alright." There was a small smile on Loki's face, but it was hardly there. Loki nodded before he headed off down the hall. "Hermione." Loki stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at her. "What?" Loki asked.

Hermione looked at him, still leaning against the wall. "You can call me Hermione." Loki nodded, not saying anything. He continued walking down the hall, leaving Hermione alone as usual.


	16. Ashes to Ashes

A few days had passed since the attack on the castle. The warm, happy feeling Asgard had once had was no longer there. Instead, Asgard was dark and cold. The sunny skies of Asgard were now cloudy, just like the wizarding world in Hermione's sixth year at Hogwarts. Frigga's death had affected all of Asgard. The people of Asgard weeped in the streets for their beloved queen whose life had been taken before her time. Even the workers in the castle were devastated. Odin had gone easy on them and insisted that the workers take some time off to heal.

Hermione had noticed that Odin was struggling, which was to be expected after the events of Christmas Eve night. Many of the guests had been killed, their bodies scattered in the halls and in the ballroom. The bodies had all been cleared of the castle and word had been sent to the realms in which the guests had come from, explaining what had happened.

Thor wasn't in the greatest mood either, but Jane was keeping him company. Hermione had talked to Jane more since the ball, mainly because she wanted to know what Loki and Thor had been arguing about on that night. "There's something inside me, something inhuman," Jane had said. "It, apparently, belongs to the elves. That's what they were after. That's why they were here."

Hermione was still dealing with the pain in the only way she knew how... reading. She spent hours in the library, reading through as many books as she could. She did as much as she could to keep Frigga's death off of her mind, but that was easier said than done. Despite all of the people who were suffering because of Frigga's death, it was Loki that Hermione was worried about the most. She knew how good Loki was at hiding his emotions, but she had seen Loki's face at the sight of Frigga's body. She could see the tears that had formed in his eyes as he stared down at his mother's figure. It hurt Hermione to know that Loki was trying so hard to remain strong, and she knew that he was being forced to keep calm.

Odin had instructed that his sons keep the tears to themselves and let no one see them cry. Hermione was furious that Odin was forcing Loki to keep his emotions to himself, as if Loki hadn't been doing that for most of his life. Loki had been quiet for days now, though she could swear that she heard crying in the room next to her. It was usually pretty quiet, but Hermione had picked up on the soft noises from time to time.

Everyone had been having meals in their rooms, avoiding anyone's company. Some of the workers, despite Odin allowing them time off to heal, had stayed behind to take care of the royal family and the guests who were still here, which were Hermione and Jane. After the attack, any of the surviving guests had gone straight back to their realm.

Hermione had just finished lunch and was currently sat on her bed, reading one of the books she had taken from the library. Her ears picked up the faint noises coming from the room next door, followed by the sound of things crashing. Sighing, Hermione saved her spot in her book and put it on the bed next to her before standing up. Slowly, she opened her door, closing it behind her and walking up to the door of Loki's room. She could still hear the noises. Hermione's raised her fist, knocking gently on the wood. "Loki?" Her voice was soft, gentle. "Loki, are you okay?" There was no answer.

Hermione silently turned the handle and opened the door. The room was a mess. Books were scattered all over the floor, a wooden chair was broken, the pieces scattering the room. Hermione knew that Loki had done this in a fit. Hermione's brown eyes scanned the room and landed on Loki. He was sat on his floor, curled into a ball, his head hiding in his hands. It made Hermione want to cry at the scene before her, seeing Loki in the state he was in. Hermione quietly shut Loki's door and took small, silent steps towards him. "Loki?" Her voice had dropped to a whisper as she approached the god. Hermione could tell that Loki was crying.

His body was trembling and his breathing was heavy, not to mention she could see his tears glistening on his hands.

Hermione sat down next to him, putting her head on his shoulder. Barely a few seconds after, Loki shifted and latched onto Hermione, arms wrapped around her body and head over her shoulder. His crying got louder, turning into full on sobs. Hermione held him tightly, rubbing his back and soothing him. "Shhh. Shhh. It's okay. It'll be alright."

Hermione wanted to believe her own words, but she was still dealing with Frigga's death as well. Loki had it worse than she did and in this moment, the only person Hermione cared about was the god of mischief. Hermione could feel him calming down. He wasn't trembling as much and his crying had grown soft. Hermione let out a breath, closing her eyes as she held him in her arms. She continued softly rubbing his back, noticing that it was helping to calm Loki.

Eventually, Loki stopped crying, but even after he had calmed down, Hermione stayed with him. Even though Loki was no longer crying, Hermione knew he was still hurting and she didn't want to leave him alone. Loki tried to apologize for the mess and for crying, but Hermione wouldn't let him. "There's no need to apologize," Hermione had said. She didn't want him to apologize for anything, especially when she knew why he was in the state he was in. So, they sat there in silence, basking in each other's company.

...

It was the evening everyone had been dreading. The sun was hidden behind the clouds, like it had been for days. It was cold outside, a lot colder than it had been. It seemed that the realm itself was reacting to Frigga's death.

Hermione was still worried about Loki, even now as she looked at her reflection in the mirror, dressed entirely in black. Faye and Molly had returned to help out wth the funeral and to pay their respects. Hermione did everything she could to keep the tears from falling, but she felt like she was losing the battle against her emotions. Any minute now, the tears would start falling and she knew there was no point in trying to stop them. Being who she was, it was hard for Hermione to keep her emotions to herself. She wasn't as emotionally strong as Loki.

Taking one last look at herself, Hermione sighed and turned and walked out of her room. Faye and Molly left soon after to return to the rest of the staff.

The funeral was being held on a cliff. Frigga's body rested on a golden table, decorated with ancient designs. Hermione couldn't keep fighting anymore. The tears she had been trying to hold in poured out of her. The tears stung, making it impossible for her to keep her eyes open. "Are you okay?" Thor asked as he approached her. Hermione wiped the tears away. "Yeah. I'm just emotional," she replied, crossing her arms.

"I'm not surprised. We all are emotional today." Hermione sighed. "I don't feel like I deserve to cry. I've only known your mother for a few months." Thor looked at Hermione. "Don't be silly. You may not have known her for very long, but you two were close. You have no reason to feel like that." Hermione nodded, saying nothing else.

Not long after, Odin stood in front of everyone who was attending. Everyone stood in silence as Odin scanned the crowd. "What a tragic day this is. And what a way to end another year. The attack on Christmas Eve was not expected. Many lives were lost, including our dear Queen Frigga." Odin gestured to his wife's body. "Many of you know how kind my wife was... and how brave. While I am hurt by her passing, I am glad that her life was filled with love and kindness. To all who are here to mourn alongside my family, your attendance is greatly appreciated."

Odin walked back into the crowd. Some of Odin's closest friends escorted him away from group and began conversing to themselves.

Thor placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "You have as much a right to be here as anyone else. You need not feel like you are unworthy of mourning." Hermione nodded, a small smile appearing on her face. Thor smiled back before dismissing himself to talk to some of the others.

Hermione slowly approached Frigga's body. She stopped a few feet away from the table, arms crossed. She felt someone stop next to her. Right away, she knew it was Loki. he was dressed in an all back suit, hands in the pockets of his black dress pants. Hermione could sense that Loki wanted to say something but was having a hard time with saying it.

"If she were still alive, Frigga would be happy to have you at her funeral," Loki said, staring at his mother's body. Hermione didn't look at him. "I'm sure she would have been just as honored to have you here, Loki." Loki smiled to himself, looking at the ground. Hermione heard him breathe in before he spoke. "I never thanked you," he began. "For comforting me and staying with me afterwards. I know I was a mess. I don't usually let people see me like that."

Hermione looked at him, brown eyes meeting his green ones. "Your mother died. I understand why you were in the state you were in. It's nothing to be ashamed of, Loki." She put a hand on his arm, rubbing it gently. "I've only been here for a few months, but being here as really changed my life. I never thought my life could get more exciting, but coming here has been one of the best things that have ever happened to me. I have you to thank for that."

"Me?" Loki asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked down at her. "What did I do?" Loki was shocked, to say the least. Hermione's words did make him feel a tinge of happiness.

"Despite the things you've done in the past, you've redeemed yourself. I can see that Odin trusts you more than he did when I first got here. You've changed immensely." Loki's eyes stayed glued to hers. Hermione bit her lip. "You've also saved my life multiple times. If it weren't for you, I might not be here." Hermione looked down, unable to look into his eyes any longer. Loki smiled, noticing her shy away.

"Well, I appreciate it very much." Loki walked closer to her. He put his finger under her chin, tilting her head up so their eyes met again. "You don't know how much it means to me." Hermione's breathing was steady, even as she stared into Loki's eyes.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust," Odin spoke, pulling the attention of the crowd back to him. In his hand was a single match, a flame dancing at the end of it. "As the sun sets, we say a final goodbye to Queen Frigga. May she rest in peace." The crowd mumbled those last words before Odin threw the match atop Frigga's lifeless body. Loki and Hermione watched the flames grow, taking a final look at Frigga's body.

"Come on," Hermione whispered to Loki, nudging him. Loki looked back and noticed the crowd dispersing. He simply nodded as he looked back at Hermione. She took his hand and gently pulled him away. "What will happen after her body turns to ash?" Hermione asked as they walked away. "Her ashes will be buried in the family crypt, in a tomb made especially for her," Loki replied, squeezing her hand gently.

"We need to figure out who let the elves in on Christmas Eve night," Loki said after awhile of silence. "I will not rest until the culprit is caught. My mother will be avenged... this I promise."


	17. A State of Healing

A few days had passed since Frigga's funeral. Things had calmed down after the funeral, and the workers were back to their usual routines. Hermione had noticed that despite how calm things were, everyone was still in a mood, which wasn't that surprising. It wasn't easy getting over someone like Frigga. The queen had always been so kind and generous. She was never cruel to anyone. Plus, she had saved Hermione from Nolan and had talked to her about whether or not he was a problem. With Frigga no longer around, who would protect her from Nolan's advances? If he ever tried anything again, that is. Of course, Loki would probably do something, but she worried that Loki would do something horrible to him. Frigga would have been calm about it, whereas Loki would probably kill Nolan the next time he came near Hermione.

Hermione could tell that Odin wasn't letting go of Frigga's death. He was determined to figure out who let the Dark Elves into the castle on Christmas Eve night. Hermione knew that once Odin discovered the identity of the traitor(assuming the person who let them in was from Asgard), they would pay for what they had done.

Hermione was curious about who had let the elves in as well, but she also dreaded finding out. She didn't know whether or not to feel bad for the person if they were caught. Yeah, they had committed a crime, but they would possibly lose their life because of it. Whoever had done it was in a lot of trouble. Hermione could only imagine what would happen to the person when they were caught.

Hermione had needed a way of relaxing after the funeral. She found herself losing focus quite often and just needed a way to calm herself down. In the past, Hermione had taken to yoga. It had helped her a lot, but she stopped after awhile. She had always found herself too busy to get back into it, but with things calming down after everything that happened, Hermione found herself picking back up where she left off. She had conjured a yoga mat and was currently in tree position. Her feet were bare, which made it easier for her to not slip on the mat. Hermione's eyes were closed as she took a breath, focusing all her energy on not falling over.

It had been a really long time since she had done yoga, and she hadn't gotten any practice in, so it was hard for her to keep her balance. Nevertheless, she tried her hardest to stay up straight. She found that taking deep, steady breaths helped to keep her up right.

Hermione left her door open ajar, allowing the scent of the candle she had lit to creep into the hallway.

The scent of the candle had come into Loki's room from the hallway and he couldn't ignore it. He silently opened his door, following the scent to the room right next door. His door shut quietly behind him as he peeked into Hermione's room. He raised an eyebrow as he watched her, confused by what she was doing. He raised his fist, knocking on the door.

Hermione's eyes opened. "Yes?" She said. She could see that it was Loki through the crack in the door. Loki stepped into the room, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What are you doing?" He asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. Hermione got back into position, her eyes closing once again. "Yoga," she replied before taking another deep breath. That didn't help Loki at all. "What is this 'yoga' you speak of?" Loki asked, his eyes fixed on her. Yoga was not something Loki had ever heard of or seen. Watching Hermione only confused him.

"It's something I do to relax. I'm in a state of healing. Yoga helps me to stay focused and calm down. Things have been crazy lately and I just need something to take my mind off of what all has happened," Hermione replied. She stopped posing and took a deep breath before stretching. Loki watched her. Hermione noticed and turned to look at him. "If you want, I can teach you. It might help to relieve your stress after everything that's happened."

Loki scoffed. "Stress. What stress?" Hermione looked at him knowingly. "Don't even act like you aren't. I can tell that you have a lot on your mind right now. Yoga might be able to help you. Give it a try?"

Loki huffed before giving in. Hermione grabbed her wand and made another yoga mat appear. She looked at Loki, pointing her wand at him and using a spell to put him into something more appropriate for yoga. Loki crossed his arms. "You had to do that?" He asked.

Hermione put her wand on her bed, not looking at him as she spoke. "You can't do yoga in your armor, Loki. It would be extremely uncomfortable, and yoga is not meant to be uncomfortable." She turned to look at him, hands on her hips. Loki raised an eyebrow, but said nothing more. With Loki silent, Hermione knew the conversation was over and stepped onto her yoga mat. "The first thing you want to do before you do yoga is stretch. If you don't, you could really hurt yourself."

Hermione began stretching, Loki watching her. He attempted to follow her movements, but Hermione was far more flexible than he was, meaning she could do more complicated stretches. "How am I supposed to match your movements when you can bend your body in strange ways?" Loki asked, his voice holding a tone of frustration. "You don't have to copy my movements, Loki. Just stretch... you do know how to stretch, right?"

"Of course, I know how to stretch," he snapped before doing so. Hermione watched him, placing her hands on her hips once again. "You're very grumpy today," Hermione said, beginning her stretches again. "Maybe yoga will help you more than I thought."

She thought she heard Loki growl, but she decided to just shake it off and continue stretching.

...

Awhile later, after they had finished their stretches, Hermione was teaching Loki the tree position, which she had been working on earlier. "How does pretending to be a tree help to calm one's mind?" Loki asked as Hermione stood close to him as support. He was having trouble keeping his balance, which was surprising given how stealthy Loki was.

"Shh. Try not to focus on ridiculous questions and focus more on actually doing the pose." Hermione's voice was gentle, very soothing. Loki couldn't help but listen. She was so calm, so collected. Loki admired her more than he thought he would. Even though he wouldn't admit it to her, he thought she was special. He was used to girls who were weak and not very bright, but Hermione was the complete opposite. She was fascinating to him. Her intelligence levels matched his own, which was something he had never encountered before. The fact that she made it out of a gruesome battle alive proved just how strong she really was.

Hermione felt Loki's eyes on her while she was demonstrating the pose. Her own eyes opened and she turned to look at him. "Yes?" She asked.

Loki raised an eyebrow. "What?" He wasn't aware that he had been staring at her. "You were staring," Hermione said.

"Was I? Sorry. I suppose I just have a lot on my mind. It's hard for me to stay focused." Loki did have a lot on his mind, but it was completely different from what had been on his mind before. In this moment, Hermione was the only thing Loki could think about. His mother's passing was completely wiped from his memory as he looked down at the witch.

"I know you do. Come on, try again." Loki sighed and attempted to do the position again. Hermione stood next to him, hands out to keep him balanced. "Keep your leg there," Hermione said. She tried her hardest not to laugh, but Loki could tell that she was struggling. "Oh, do you find something funny?" He asked, a smirk on his face. Hermione could hold back the laughter any longer. As Loki came towards her, a wicked grin on his face, Hermione backed away, still laughing. She knew he wouldn't hurt her.

With her back to the wall, he placed his hands on either side of Hermione's head, trapping her in. Hermione smiled up at him, her brown eyes filled with glee. Loki couldn't deny that her smile was beautiful... that she was beautiful.

Loki leaned down until his mouth was right next to her ear, his warm breath tickling the shell of her. "My wandering child, so brave and so beautiful." It had been awhile since Loki called her that. Hermione actually liked the nickname, even if she hated the reason she had gotten it. She couldn't hide the blush that appeared on her face at his words. "Come on, Loki," Hermione said, gently pushing him back and walking past him. "We need to focus."

Loki had never thought that he would feel this way for Hermione, but since the Nolan incident, he had found himself falling more in love with her every time he looked at her. He wasn't even falling, he had been pushed and crashed. Hell, he might as well have jumped. Loki's heart beat wildly against his chest just thinking about her. He couldn't help the smile that was on his face. Being around Hermione really had changed him.

"I think the stress is gone," Loki said, looking at her, that same smile on his face. "I don't think this is necessary anymore." Hermione crossed her arms. "Fine. If you don't think you need it, go back into your hole. I'll stay here and relax my mind." Hermione closed her eyes, moving into another position. Loki watched her intently. "I think your mind has enough relaxation to last you a lifetime, love. Perhaps you should allow your brain to rest." Loki took Hermione's hand in his, rubbing his thumb gently against her skin.

Hermione sighed, knowing he was right. Hermione had been at this since she woke up that morning and she was starting to feel a bit tired. She nodded her head before grabbing her wand and making all of the yoga stuff disappear.

Loki smiled at her. "I appreciate the help, Hermione. Your method of relaxation has calmed me very much." Hermione smiled at his words. "I'm glad."

Loki walked up to her, their bodies almost touching. He pressed his lips gently on her forehead, plating a soft kiss on the skin. "Get some rest, darling," Loki whispered before letting go of her hand and walking out of the room. Hermione watched him leave before shutting the door and laying down on her bed.

Perhaps getting some rest was exactly what Hermione needed.


	18. Tea With Odin

Hermione woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. That was the best sleep she had gotten since Frigga's funeral. Almost immediately after she got out of bed, her stomach growled. Hermione got dressed and went down to the kitchens to get something to eat. After the funeral, the staff had returned to the castle. Everyone was busy getting back into the swing of the things.

Once she arrived at the kitchens, the staff smiled at her and went back to work. "Hello, Ms. Granger. What can I do for you?" One of the staff asked. "I just came down to get something to eat," she replied, a small smile on her face. "Of course. What would you like?"

"Fruit is fine." Hermione picked out an orange from the bowl of fruit and went on her way, after thanking the staff, of course.

Hermione strolled quietly through the hall. She decided to wait to peel the orange until she was in her room. As she approached the door to her room, a guard came up to her. He bowed before speaking. "Ms. Granger, the king requested me to deliver this letter to you." He handed her the letter and went his own way. Hermione looked at the letter questioningly before walking into her room, shutting the door behind her.

She set the letter down on the desk in the room and peeled the orange she had gotten from the kitchen. The juice from the orange made her hands sticky and she had to wash her hands after she finished eating it. Hermione disposed of the peel and washed her hands thoroughly before walking out of the bathroom. Her eyes shifted back to the letter on the desk.

Sighing, she walked over to the desk and picked up the letter. Her eyes stayed glued on her name, written by Odin's hand. She pursed her lips and turned the letter over to open it. Hermione pulled the letter out, placing the envelope back on the desk. Hermione paced back and forth in her room as she read the letter.

 _'Ms. Granger, I am sure that you are wondering why I am writing to you. I can say now that my intentions for writing this are pure. I am simply requesting your presence this afternoon to have tea with me in Frigga's special spot in the garden. If you know not where that is, my son, Thor, can escort you. I do hope you will accept my invitation. ~Odin'_

Hermione took a deep breath after reading the letter and placed it on the desk. She walked over to her bed and sat down at the end of it before laying down, staring at the ceiling. She wasn't sure if she would accept or not, but part of her felt like she had no choice. It was surprising that Odin even requested that she join him for to tea, to say the least. Hermione let out a breath and sat up on her elbows. She gently bit the inside of her cheek, losing herself in thought.

Perhaps Odin wanted to talk to Hermione because she had gotten close to Frigga, or maybe Hermione reminded Odin of a younger Frigga. She faintly remembered hearing that Frigga and Odin had known each other since their early years. Whatever the reason was for Odin's request, Hermione knew she couldn't refuse. Her mind was made up.

...

It wasn't long after Hermione started reading a book that Loki knocked on the door. Hermione got up and opened the door for him, allowing him into the room. She shut the door behind Loki before returning to the bed and picking up her book to continue reading.

"It's a nice day out, is it not?" Loki asked, walking over to the window and staring out at the scenery.

"I suppose," Hermione replied with her shrug, her eyes staying glued to the page she was currently reading. She wasn't really paying attention to Loki, not that he seemed to notice or care. In fact, he found it rather soothing, the quiet. The air around them was light and pure, and Loki knew that the dismal mood of the realm had faded and everyone was at peace. Loki's eyes shifted to the desk at his right, noticing the letter from Odin. "What is this?" He asked, his fingers brushing against the skin of the paper. He slowly picked it up, moving it closer to his face so he could read the words of Odin.

Hermione looked up from her book to see what Loki was talking about. "Oh," she breathed out, eyes shifting back to the page of her book. "Just a letter from Odin. He requested me to have tea with him this evening, that's it. It's nothing special, really." She shook her head, paying no mind to the expression on Loki's face. He placed the letter back on the desk and crossed his arms, his focus now entirely on Hermione.

"And do you plan on accepting his... _invitation?"_ The way look said that last word made Hermione's stomach drop. Slowly, her eyes shifted over to him. He looked at her intensely, his jaw clenched tightly.

"I don't really think I have a choice. He is the king, after all." Hermione shrugged once again and reached for her bookmark, placing it between the pages she was reading. "How bad could it be, Loki? It's just tea. I admit, it is a bit strange that he would request to have tea, but I'm sure he has only good intentions." Loki didn't seem to believe it, and Hermione honestly didn't believe her words either, but given everything that had gone on recently, she didn't see why Odin would have anything bad planned.

"You always have a choice, Hermione, but this time, I'm making the choice for you," Loki said, uncrossing his arms and clasping his hands behind his back. His gaze was intense as he looked down at the witch. Loki had taken a step closer to her, not realizing he had done so. "You will NOT be having tea with Odin. Not this evening and not ever."

"That's really not for you to decide, Loki," Hermione said more harshly than she had wanted to. Loki seemed unfazed by her tone, perhaps knowing she hadn't meant to sound so defensive. "I know you still have your feelings about Odin, but you've done enough to prove to him that you're not the man you used to be. You're better than that and if I can see it, he can see it, too."

"That's easy for you to say," Loki grumbled. "You have both of your eyes. The old fool can barely see out of the one he still has." Loki had a frown on his face, but it quickly turned into a smile when he heard Hermione's laughing at his words. "Loki, that's not nice." Her voice got quieter as she leaned towards him. "No matter how true it may be." Loki couldn't help the smirk that appeared on his face. Still, he was upset that Hermione still planned on having tea with Odin.

"Perhaps I should go with you," Loki suggested, though he had a feeling that Hermione would say no to that, and he was right. "Loki, it's alright. It'll be fine. I'm not worried, and you shouldn't be either. It's one evening. It'll pass by quicker than you think."

Hermione walked closer to him and looked up at him. She got on her tiptoes and placed a small kiss on Loki's cheek. "You don't have to worry so much. I promise everything will be alright. Do you trust me?" She asked, her brown eyes meeting his green ones. Loki, while still feeling off about the whole situation, stared into her eyes, a look of love in his own green hues.

"You know that I do."

"Then you know that you have nothing to worry about."

Loki still wasn't sure that it was a good idea for Hermione to attend this sudden tea party with Odin. He could feel that something wasn't right about all of it. He knew there was no point in arguing with Hermione about it. She was much too stubborn to believe him.

...

A few hours later, Hermione found herself sitting at a table in the gardens, across from Odin. Thor had escorted her, as Odin had mentioned in the letter. It was a very beautiful spot and Hermione could see how Frigga could spend so much time here. It was a shame that she had never gotten to see this place while Frigga was still alive. The two sat in silence for several minutes until Odin finally spoke up.

"So, Ms. Granger. You have been here for quite some time now. Tell me, are you enjoying yourself?" Odin asked. Hermione took another sip of her tea before responding with a small nod. "Of course, your highness. I can definitely say that my time here has been quite eventful."

"I am truly sorry about that," Odin said, followed by a sigh. "Normally, there isn't that much chaos on Asgard. We still don't know who let the Dark Elves in, but we are determined to catch the culprit. I have a feeling that the attack will not be the end of it. However, if we catch this person, perhaps we can stop them before they cause any more trouble." Hermione nodded, listening to his every word. She was still curious as to who had let those creatures into Asgard. It seemed odd to Hermione. Who would betray Asgard? Who would want to kill a bunch of innocent people? Of course, Loki was the first person that came to mind, but she ignored it because she knew that Loki hadn't done it. He was a changed man.

"Let's move onto another topic, shall we?" Odin leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the table. "Do you miss your home?"

Hermione hadn't expected Odin to ask that. It had been awhile since Hermione had even thought about Hogwarts. Her mind started wandering to her friends. She missed them more than ever. It had been so long since she had seen them, but she remembered exactly how they looked, as well as their voices. Odin raised an eyebrow, which drew Hermione's attention. She realized she hadn't spoken for several minutes.

"Sorry, your highness. I got lost in my thoughts."

"Worry not, Ms. Granger," Odin said, raising his hand to silence her. "I understand. You must miss your friends dearly."

Hermione just nodded, her soft curls bouncing with the movement.

"I know not much about them, though from my understanding, many lives were lost during this battle at... Hegwerts?"

"Hogwarts," Hermione corrected. "Yes. Unfortunately, one of my best friends was among those whose lives were taken. I do miss him very much, though I must admit that I haven't thought much about home since I arrived. In the beginning, it was all I could think about, but my mind has since then wandered away from those thoughts do to... well, reasons, I suppose. I've found other ways to keep myself occupied." Odin knew what Hermione meant.

"Loki, of course. I do hope that he has not been too much of a bother. His lineage does cause him to be more animalistic than I would like." Hermione shook her head. "Oh, nothing of the sort. Loki is just fine."

"Surprising," Odin said, a slight hum escaping his lips. "What do you think of Loki?" He asked after a few seconds. "How do you feel about him?" Odin leaned back slightly in his chair, clasping his hands together in front of him. He looked at her intently, like he was trying to figure out what exactly Hermione felt about Loki.

"Well," she began, setting down her cup from which she had just taken a sip from. "Loki has been very kind to me. I think he's charming and sweet. He's certainly not the man he used to be." Hermione couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face. "How do I feel about him? Well, I suppose I see him as a close friend now, someone I can trust. I don't feel like he'd betray me and I'm definitely not afraid of him or uncomfortable around him." Hermione didn't understand why she was telling this to Odin, or why Odin would even care.

"I think that Loki, if given the opportunity, would make a great king. He seems to have accepted his past actions and is not afraid to admit that he's made mistakes."

Odin's eyebrow shot up. "A king? Is that what you think he should be? You think he has the right to play that role?" His voice raised with every word.

Hermione's eyes widened as Odin's voice grew louder. "Has he not yet proven to you that he's changed?" Hermione asked. "Do you not believe that he is a changed man?"

"It matters not whether or not he has changed," Odin said. His hands were balled into fists on the table, but he wore a calm expression on his elderly face. "He is a frost giant. If you knew of their kind's behavior, you would understand why Loki cannot be a king."

Hermione crossed her arms. "It shouldn't matter. He is your so-"

"HE IS NOT MY SON!" Odin yelled, standing up from his chair. Hermione followed, rising from her own seat, hands balled into fire-white fists.

"You raised him as your son! you knew what he was. It wasn't until he learned the truth that you turned him away and cast him out. You made him into the monster you claim he is. All of the horrible feelings he has for you, that's your fault. He believed in you. He believed that you loved him... but you used him and lied to him."

"He is weak," Odin sneered. "He's a fraud. He is nothing."

Hermione did everything in her power to keep from hitting the old fool. Instead, she angrily walked away. Loki had been right. Having tea with Odin had been a bad idea. As she walked down to her room, she avoided talking to people. She was too angry to talk.

When she got back to her room, Loki was waiting for her. His back was turned to her. Hermione sighed and closed the door.

"You disobeyed me," he said quietly, his back still towards you. Hermione just sighed and sat down on her bed. "Why?" Loki turned around to face her, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You were right, Loki. I shouldn't have gone. I'm sorry." Hermione's eyes shifted to the floor. "Odin said some really horrible things, Loki."

"Oh?" Loki raised and eyebrow and walked over to the bed, sitting beside Hermione. "And what did he say, if I might ask?"

Hermione looked over at him, their eyes meeting. Hermione shook her head.

"Nothing true."


	19. Child of the Moon

Hermione had done well with avoiding Odin, which was all she had been doing since the incident at Odin's "tea party." Odin seemed to be hanging around more often, wandering through the halls of the palace. It was quite unsettling, actually. With Odin constantly lurking, she felt as if he was planning something against her.

Loki did as much as he could to keep Odin away from Hermione. He spent a lot more time in Hermione's room. She had manipulated the barriers on her doors to allow Loki access, not that he needed it. Loki's abilities exceeded her magic, so there was really no reason for her to do anything to the barriers. Hermione had spent more time in her room since Odin's tea time, not even leaving to get food. Loki took care of that for her, either summoning food out of thin air or physically leaving to get meals for the two of them.

Hermione appreciated it very much, though she had told him it wasn't necessary. Of course, there was no arguing with Loki. So after a single look from Loki, Hermione said no more about it. The two were growing a lot closer now that they were spending more time together. Thor had been bugging Loki about it whenever the two of them crossed paths. Loki tried his best to brush him off, but Thor didn't seem to notice. Hermione hadn't talked to Thor in awhile. She hadn't even seen him since she was always hiding in her room. She wondered if he knew that he was welcome to swing by and chat with her, regardless of what Loki had to say about it. Thor was a good guy with good intentions. She certainly had nothing against him. By now, she had accepted what him and Frigga had believed about her. Besides, she was starting to feel something for Loki. They had become close friends, but Hermione's heart was starting to swell from whatever it was she felt for Loki. He didn't have to know that though. Hermione certainly didn't want him knowing, as she knew he would be very smug about it and just tease her for it. Whatever it was.

Loki came in with a stack of books in his arms. He pushed the door shut gently with the back of his foot before walking over to a table in the room and setting the books on top of it. Hermione was staring out the window, leaning against the wall with her head resting against the wall as well. Loki looked over at her, a curious look on his face. "Is something the matter, Hermione?" He asked, slowly approaching her.

"Yeah. Everything is fine. I'm just thinking," Hermione replied quietly, turning to face him.

Loki raised an eyebrow. "What about?" He asked just as quietly, clasping his hands behind his back. Loki could tell that there was something on Hermione's mind. As they had gotten closer, he had started to notice little things about her. The small lip bite she did when she was concentrating, the way she moved strands of hair behind her ear when she was nervous, as well as how her eyes seemed to roam the surroundings when she was avoiding a topic of conversation.

Her eyes were doing that same thing now, shifting from one corner to the next without landing on Loki. "Nothing important," Hermione said, a slight shrug from her shoulders. She liked to dodge questions as well, which was slightly irritating to Loki. He didn't show it on his face though. Loki was actually very calm and patient. He had his moments, but it was never anything too serious. Nothing that Hermione couldn't handle anyway.

"Hermione," Loki began, taking her chin gently and tilting her head upwards to look into her eyes. "Whatever is on your mind, you can't hide it from me. I am the god of mischief and lies. I always know when there is something you are not telling me. You do not have to hide anything from me, you know that, do you not?" Loki looked deeply into Hermione's eyes and she thought she was going to melt. "Loki, I-"

She pulled away, taking a step back. "I'm fine, really. it's nothing to be worried about. I promise."

Loki didn't believe her and he could tell that he wasn't going to get anything out of Hermione, at least not at the moment. He wanted her to talk to him, but he had learned that Hermione was pretty secretive. He wasn't sure if Hermione trusted him or not. She had told him before that she did, but if that was true, wouldn't she be honest with him and tell him what was on her mind? Loki decided to leave it alone for now. She would tell him when she was ready. He didn't know when that would be, but he hoped that it was soon.

Hermione sat down on her bed, a soft sigh escaping her lips. She wanted to tell Loki, but she couldn't. It wasn't just because of his smugness, but because she was afraid of how Loki would react. Would he be happy? Would he tell her that he loved her back? Would he be angry? Would he laugh at her? Hermione didn't know. Hermione wasn't usually a risk taker, not in this sense. She had had to take risks tons of times when she went on dangerous adventures with Harry and Ron, but this was just Hermione telling Loki that she loved him. It shouldn't be this hard. Hermione wanted to smack herself. Why couldn't she just say it?

"Hermione?" Her head shot up, her gaze shifting from her lap to Loki, who was looking at her with concern. She realized that she had been silent for several minutes, staring off into space. "Are you alright?" Loki asked, kneeling in front of her. He placed a hand gently on Hermione's cheek and looked into her eyes with concern and... something else. Hermione wasn't sure if she had seen right, but she thought she saw a look of love in Loki's eyes. She was tempted to ignore it or pretend like she hadn't seen it at all, but her heart was racing. "Yes, I'm okay." Hermione nodded her head slightly. "Loki," Hermione began, taking a deep breath. "Why do you care about me so much? What have I ever done to get you to care about me as much as you do?"

"It's quite simple, is it not?" Loki asked. "In the time that you have been here, you've shown me more kindness than anyone else. I never believed in that whole 'destined to save me' thing that Frigga and Thor were on about. You ask what you have done to get me to care about you so? You have done so much, Hermione, so much... to help me become the man I am now. You have made me a better person, Hermione. I am forever grateful for having met you. Our story had an odd beginning, but I only see it getting better from here. Still, I believe that there will be challenges we must face, but I have faith. I believe that together, we can get through all of the obstacles that stand in our way." Hermione was almost in tears, but she managed to keep them back.

"Loki, I-" There was a knock on the door. They're heads turned and then turned back to each other. Loki raised an eyebow before standing and approaching the door. He opened it slowly, peeking his head out to see who it was. "Yes?" Hermione heard a voice that she didn't recognize. "His majesty has requested your presence. He is at the bifrost with Heimdall." Loki rolled his eyes. "It is urgent," the guard said.

Loki looked at Hermione. She knew she couldn't avoid Odin forever. She nodded her head back and stood up. The two walked down to the bifrost where Odin and Heimdall were waiting for them. "What could you possibly want, Odin?" Loki asked in an annoyed tone as he crossed his arms over his chest. Odin's face was blank. "Someone has arrived in Asgard who claims to be a friend of Ms. Granger's. We needed her in order to access whether or not it is true." Hermione's head turned from Odin to a figure that was approaching them. Her eyes widened. "Luna?!"

Luna smiled at Hermione. "Hey." Hermione walked over to the blonde girl and embraced her tightly.

"How did you get here?" Hermione asked after she released Luna from the hug. She couldn't believe that Luna was here. That was the last thing she had expected to happen.

"The mirror of Erised," Luna replied. "We were so worried about you, Hermione. Ron's been going mad thinking that something bad had happened to you." _Ron._ She hadn't thought about him in awhile. She hadn't even thought about how worried he must have been about her. "How much time has passed?" Hermione asked Luna.

"A few days. I don't know why I didn't come sooner. When you told me about seeing Loki in the mirror, I didn't even think that it could be a portal to Asgard. I'm so sorry that I didn't come sooner." Hermione had been shocked when luna said that only a few days had passed. She had been gone for months in Asgard's time.

Loki took that moment to intervene, clearly sensing Hermione's confusion. "If I may," Loki began. "You may not," Odin interrupted. Loki glared at Odin before returning his gaze to the two girls. "I do believe that I have told you of how time works here, Hermione. While time passes quickly in Asgard, it is slower in other realms. Years could pass in Asgard, but only a few weeks in other realms such as Midgard."

Hermione nodded. She remembered Loki telling her about that. It seemed like forever ago that he told her about how time worked on Asgard. Luna walked over to Loki and stuck her hand out for him to shake. "You're Loki. My name is Luna Lovegood. I'm a friend of Hermione's." Luna had a smile on her face, a very innocent one. Loki took Luna's hand and leaned lifted it, planting a small kiss on her knuckles. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Lovegood."

Luna turned back to Hermione. "We should go back, Hermione. The others will be even more worried than they already are." Luna grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her along. "Luna. Luna, wait." Hermione let go of the blonde's hand, causing her to turn and face Hermione. "What's wrong, Hermione?" Luna asked, concern on her pale face.

Hermione looked back at Loki, whose eyes were pointed at the floor. "I can't leave, Luna. I don't want to leave." Loki's eyes shifted at Hermione's words, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. "Why not?" Luna asked. "What about Ron, and Ginny, and Neville? They're worried sick about you. What am I supposed to tell them?"

"Tell them the truth," Hermione replied. "That I'm alright and that I miss them, but that I can't go back." Luna grabbed Hermione's hand gently and pulled her over to a wall, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Hermione, are you being forced to stay here against your will?" She asked with wide eyes.

"What? No. Luna... I like being here. I've made friends and I've just had a really great time here. Thing have happened since I got here and I can't say that those moments have been the best moments of my life, but other than that, I'm happy... and I'm not ready to go home yet." Hermione was being completely honest with Luna. She had enjoyed her time here and she wasn't ready to leave yet, but it was more than that. She didn't want to leave Loki behind, especially after everything that had happened. And she couldn't ignore the feelings she had for Loki. She knew it was wrong, especially because of her relationship with Ron. She didn't ant to face her ginger headed friend and tell him that she no longer had romantic feelings for her. She knew it would break his ginger headed heart.

Luna was about to say something when Thor came into the room. "Sorry I'm late. I was held up during training." Thor had a large grin on his face, to which Loki just rolled his eyes and shook his head. _'The fool doesn't know what subtlety is,'_ Loki said in Hermione's mind. He had stopped doing that a long time ago.

"What have I missed?" His eyes landed on Luna and his smile only grew. "Well, I'll be damned. Luna!" Luna's smile returned and the two embraced each other tightly. "I haven't seen you in a long time. How are you? How did you get here?" The two got so lost in their own conversation that they failed to notice the numerous pairs of eyes on them.

Odin cleared his throat and the two stopped their chatter, turning their heads to the king. "You two know each other?" Odin asked. Thor nodded his head. "Yes, father. We are very good friends."

"I see. And how is it exactly that you two know each other?"

"It's a long story, father. Believe me, she is no threat to Asgard or its people. She will bring no harm to anyone."

Hermione nodded her head in agreement, knowing that Luna wouldn't hurt a fly. There was no reason for Odin to worry. "Very well," Odin said with a nod. "Thank you for letting me know about her arrival, Heimdall. My faith and trust in you never wavers." Heimdall bowed his head to his. "Of course, my king."

"Luna, you must say. At least for a few days, just to catch up. Please?" Luna looked at Thor. "Oh. Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt. Though I really should be heading back. My friends will be worried." Luna looked over at Hermione, who had walked back over to Loki. Loki had his arm wrapped around Hermione protectively. She raised an eyebrow before turning back to Thor.

"Luna, please stay. You don't have to stay for very long, but I want to catch up with you. Please?"

Luna was hesitant, but in the end, she agreed to stay for a few days. She was immediately given a room and everyone parted ways, Thor practically dragging Luna along with him. Odin left without saying a word to Loki or Hermione, which they were very grateful for.

They left the bifrost, Heimdall watching them as they did so.

Once they were back in the halls of the castle, Loki spoke up. "What were you going to say before we were so _rudely_ interrupted?" He asked, his eyes on Hermione. He hadn't forgotten that she was about to tell him something before the guard had shown up. Hermione shook her head, her eyes glued to the floor.

"Nothing. I was just going to say thank you for being so kind to me." Loki knew she was lying, he always did. Still, he said nothing and continued walking down the halls. Once they arrived, Loki immediately followed Hermione into her room. He really hadn't been staying in his own room since Odin's tea party. He really just didn't want to leave Hermione alone anymore.

"So, how exactly does your friend know Thor?" Loki asked after taking a seat. Hermione proceeded to tell him what Thor had said. That's how they spent the rest of that afternoon, talking about Thor and Luna.

...

It was a day later that Luna came knocking on Hermione's door. Loki had stepped out after Luna arrived as his presence had been requested by Thor.

"Why won't you come back with me, Hermione?" Luna asked once Loki had left. "I don't understand. Harry's death affected all of us, Hermione. If you don't want to come back because you're worried about being reminded of Harry, you're not alone."

Hermione shook her head. That wasn't why she didn't want to come back. That wasn't even close to being the reason. "I have friends here, Luna. People who I've gotten very close to. Luna, I do miss Harry, but that isn't the reason for why I don't want to go back to Hogwarts. I miss each and every one of you guys, but things have changed and I just don't want to leave."

"Is it because of Loki? I've seen the way you look at him. I saw how protective he was over you. Is there something going on between you two?" She asked, sitting down in the chair Loki usually sat in. Hermione sighed and shook her head once more.

"Loki and I have become close friends. And if you had been here before now, you would understand why he's so protective over me. There is nothing going on between Loki and I, other than our friendship." Hermione sighed and laid down on her bed. "Luna, I have to tell you something very important and you have to promise to keep it a secret," Hermione said.

Luna looked up from her hands, an eyebrow raised. She nodded her head. "Of course. I can do that."

Hermione took a deep breath. "When I first met Loki, I was against everything he did. I thought he was this horrible person and I didn't trust him at all, but then time passed and we got closer and closer with each day. Loki and I are just friends, but I don't want us to be just friends. I-"

Luna walked over to her and sat down beside her on the bed. Hermione sat up with a sigh. "I'm in love with Loki. That's the truth." Hermione shook her head. "But he doesn't know that and I can't tell him. I don't even know if he feels the same way. For all I know, Loki doesn't have any romantic feelings for me. I don't know what to do."

"What about Ron?" Luna asked. "Do you not have feelings for him anymore?"

"Honestly, no. Things have been so crazy since I got here. I really haven't thought about Ron at all. Loki has changed my life and he's actually a really great guy. I understand him and care about him, just as much as Loki does me. We have a connection, Loki and I. I can't imagine where or what I would be without him."

"Are you sure he's not just using you, Hermione? Deceiving you? He is the god of mischief and lies, after all. And he's really good at manipulating people."

Hermione shook her head. "No. I know Loki. He wouldn't do that, not to me. Besides, he isn't the man he used to be. He's better now." Hermione wasn't sure if she believed her own words. Luna's made her question whether or not she really believed that Loki had changed. "I trust him, Luna. I really do."

"You should tell him. That you love him, I mean. Keeping it a secret will only hurt you, Hermione, and I don't want to see that." Luna took Hermione's hand in her own, giving it a slight squeeze. "As your friend, I don't want to see you hurting. Tell him, Hermione. Let him know how you really feel about him before it's too late."

Hermione knew that Luna was right. Keeping this a secret would only hurt Hermione, but she wasn't sure how Loki would react. With any luck, he would feel the same way she did. Hermione inhaled before nodding. "You're right, Luna. You always are. I should go find him. I'll talk to you later." Hermione stood up, as did Luna. The two walked out of Hermione's room, closing the door behind them. They parted ways, Luna going back to her own room and Hermione walking through the halls to find Loki. She couldn't believe she was really going through with this, but she couldn't keep this a secret from him anymore. He needed to know how she felt about him. He needed to know that she saw him as more than a friend.

Hermione walked down the hall alone. It was eerily quiet and she felt like she was being watched. She kept looking back behind her, unable to ignore the feeling. After a short moment of finally being creeped out, Hermione sprinted down the hall as fast as she could. She turned the corner and ran smack into Loki. She shrieked as she fell to the ground. Hermione felt hands on her and she fought against whoever it was.

"Hey, hey. It's me, Hermione. It's alright." It was Loki. Hermione immediately stopped fighting him and allowed him to help her up. "Are you alright?" He asked with a look of concern upon his face.

Hermione exhaled, her heart racing. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I just..." Hermione was out of breath and needed a moment for her breathing to return to normal. Loki placed his hand gently on the upper half of Hermione's back as she leaned over with her hands resting on her knees.

"Don't worry, love. Nice and slow. Breathe in, breathe out. In... and out..." He breathed along with her, helping her to calm down and get her breathing back to normal. "There we go. Nice and slow. That's better, isn't it?" He asked kindly. A genuine smile was on his face, yet his eyes still held concern within them. Loki seemed to sense that something had spooked her and he helped her to sit down in a nearby chair. "Just breathe, Hermione. Slow breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth."

Once Hermione was calm again, she sighed and looked into his eyes. "Thank you," she said quietly. Loki gave a slight nod of his head.

"What is it?" He asked, sensing that Hermione was nervous about something. "Something is bothering you. What is it?" He reached for Hermione's hand, taking it in his and stroking her skin gently with his thumb. "You can tell me, Hermione. There's no need to be afraid."

Hermione's eyes shifted to the ground. She closed them and took a deep breath before speaking. "Loki, I-" She stopped for a moment, thinking about her wording. "Since I got here, my life has been insane. Never in my life did I think this would happen. I never believed in worlds outside of my own, but being here, with you, has changed everything." Her eyes stayed glued to the golden floor, unable to look into Loki's in this moment.

"I know that things have been crazy, Hermione. I'm sorry you had to be here when things went haywire." A small smile graced the god's features and he squeezed her hand gently. "You've gone through so much, Hermione, but you have stayed strong throughout all of it. i'm so proud of you for fighting so hard, but you don't have to fight anymore. I promise, there will be no more craziness."

"Loki, there's something I need to tell you... and I'm not sure how you'll react when I tell you."

"Tell me what?" Loki asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. He could tell that Hermione was hesitating. "Whatever it is, there's no reason to be scared. Hermione, I promise you. You have nothing to hide from me."

Hermione took a deep breath. She couldn't believe she was going through with this. "Loki, I'm in love with you."

Silence.

Hermione didn't look at him. She didn't want to. She was too afraid to look at his reaction. What if he was angry? What if he hated her for feeling the way she did? What if he didn't even feel the same way? Hermione was terrified, but she knew she would have had to tell him at some point. She wouldn't be able to hide it from him forever, she knew that.

"Loki?" Hermione's voice was quiet, just barely above a whisper. Slowly, she turned her head. Her eyes met his and she quickly turned away, but Loki grabbed her chin gently and turned her head back towards him. They stared into each other's eyes for a brief moment before Loki leaned in and connected their lips. The kiss was gentle and slow, yet full of passion. It wasn't anything like the kisses she had shared with Ron. This was different, and she felt her heart pulsing in her chest at the intimate action.

It felt like the kiss lasted forever, but when Loki broke away, Hermione wanted nothing more than to reconnect their lips. Hermione turned away, unable to look at him. "I love you, too, Hermione," she heard Loki say after a few minutes. "How long have you been hiding your feelings from me?" He asked her, glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

Hermione sighed and shook her head. "I don't know. A few weeks? What about you? How long have you felt this way about me?" She was hesitant to ask, but she needed to know. Which one of them had fallen in love first?

Loki didn't seem to hesitate with answering her. "A few months. Since before the Christmas ball." Loki intertwined their fingers, looking down at their hands.

"That's why you got mad, isn't it? When Thor was helping me take care of the presents." Hermione finally understood why he had acted the way he had. At first, she thought that was just him being arrogant, but now she saw that it was just him being jealous, or at least overprotective. Loki nodded his head in reply.

"Yes, that is why I acted out the way I did. I'm deeply sorry for that, by the way. Jealousy overtook me. I was just protective over you, even though I knew I shouldn't have been." Loki closed his eyes, a soft sigh escaping his lips. "It's alright, Loki. That was awhile ago. Time has passed. I'm not mad at you. There's no need to apologize."

Loki nodded. "You are right." Loki brought Hermione's hand up to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss against her knuckles. The kiss was very light and tickled her skin.

"When am I not?" Hermione asked teasingly. Loki chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Now, now. Don't start with that." Loki had stood up and was in front of Hermione. He pulled her up from her sitting position and pulled her into a hug. Hermione wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest. She could hear Loki's heart beating in his chest and she smiled.

The moment was ruined when a guard came up to them. "Prince Loki." The guard bowed his head. "The two of you are needed in the throne room immediately."

Hermione and Loki looked at each other before following the guard to the throne room. There was a look of worry and confusion on Hermione's face. Loki seemed to be just as worried and confused as he was holding Hermione's hand tightly in his. Once they arrived, Hermione noticed a girl standing before Odin, her back turned to the two. Odin gestured for them to walk forward. "What reason do you have for calling us here, Odin?" Loki asked as the two walked up to the king.

"There is someone here. She claims that she has information about the attack of the Dark Elves," Odin replied, his face blank of emotion. Loki raised an eyebrow and turned to look at the girl. She had long brown hair and grey eyes.

"And who exactly is it that comes forth now?" Loki asked as he walked up the stairs with Hermione beside him. He stood slightly further away from Odin than Thor was. Thor's arms were crossed over his chest and Jane was standing beside him. The girl looked over to the god of mischief and spoke quietly.

"My name is Esyn. I am from the village of Asgard," she replied, her eyes meeting Loki's to let him know that she was telling the truth. Loki nodded his head as Odin looked over to him.

"The attack took place back in December. If you had information about the attack, why come forth now?" Loki asked harshly. Hermione squeezed his hand gently. Loki turned his head and met Hermione's eyes. The god took a deep breath before turning back to the other girl. It was only now that Hermione noticed Luna leaning against the wall closest to Jane. "I was hesitant to say anything. I was caught and threatened by the ones who planned the attack. There are things I heard and discovered not many nights before the attack took place. I deeply apologize for not coming before."

The girl was trembling, probably not used to having this many pairs of eyes upon her. "There is an old house in the village that no one has lived in for many centuries. I was passing it one night when I noticed some people entering the house. Normally, I would think nothing of it, but my gut was telling me that there was something unusual about the situation. I know the identities of the people who planned and carried out the attack. I know who let the Dark Elves into the castle that night."

The suspense was killing all of them. "What are the names of these people?" Odin asked somewhat impatiently.

"Nolan Ferirson and Faye Welversdottir."

Hermione's eyes widened and she turned to the two workers who were stood in the corner of the room with wide eyes. Odin turned as the two rushed to the doors. "Stop them!" Odin shouted. The two didn't go down without a fight, but in the end, they were stood in front of Odin with their hands bound behind their backs. "There is no need to ask whether it is true or not. Your reaction to the girl's words has already given away the answer. Take them to the dungeons," Odin ordered. The two were forced out of the room without another word.

Hermione couldn't believe it.


	20. A Reason for Everything

Faye couldn't possibly have been responsible for the attack on Asgard. Hermione refused to believe that Faye had had anything to do with the attack. Then again, Faye's reaction told all. There was no denying that Faye had been part of the attack. Now, when it came to Nolan, that was a bit easier to believe. The guy had seemed nice when the two first met, but that had changed pretty quickly. Now, the two were in the dungeons of Asgard, in the same kind of cells that Loki had been in when Hermione had first arrived.

Hermione was pacing back and forth in her room. She had been doing so basically since she had stepped through the door. Loki was sat in her room, watching her. He sighed and leaned forward in his seat. "Hermione, darling. Please, stop pacing." He grabbed her hand gently, making her freeze and turn to him. Her whole body was tense. When their eyes met, she relaxed. Loki looked at her with sympathy.

"Sorry," she sighed, taking a seat next to him. "I just don't know what to think about this." Hermione's eyes were to the ground, sadness within them. Loki gently took her chin between his fingers and turned her face towards him.

"Hermione, look at me, please." Hermione obeyed, her brown eyes moving to gaze into his green pupils. "I know you are having a hard time processing this. I do not blame you for reacting in this way, but you must know that what they have done is their own fault. They did this, knowing what would happen if they were caught. They are criminals, and clearly, the girl you believed to be your friend, is not your friend." Hermione nodded, her eyes once again leaving his. Loki sighed and wrapped his arm around Hermione before gently pressing a kiss atop her head. "I do not like seeing you like this, darling. Please, tell me what I can do to make you feel better." Hermione just shook her head. She wasn't sure there was anything he COULD do to make her feel better.

"I just need time, Loki. I need time to think and process this new information."

Loki nodded his head in understanding, knowing that Hermione would be fine later on. "Alright, darling. Take as much time as you need. I'm here for you when you need me." Loki stood up and stopped in front of Hermione. He placed a finger under her chin and tilted her head up before gently pressing his lips to her forehead. "I will be in the next room if you need me." Loki walked out of the room, silently closing the door behind him, leaving Hermione alone in the room.

...

It was a little while later that Hermione decided to go down to the dungeons and talk to Faye. She needed to know why Faye had done what she had done. Hermione had trusted Faye and now, that had changed.

The guards were hesitant to let her pass, but Hermione managed to get into the dungeons to speak with her once friend.

Faye was sat alone in one of the many cells in the room. Nolan was a few cells down from Faye, probably Odin's idea to keep the two away from each other. Her back was turned to Hermione, yet she still sensed Hermione's presence. "The guards let you pass?" She asked, not turning around.

"They were hesitant, but yes," Hermione replied. She crossed her arms over her chest, biting her lip gently as she looked at the girl's back. "I want to know why, Faye. Why did you and Nolan let those creatures into Asgard?" Hermione wasn't hesitant with her questions. She knew that she wanted answers and that was exactly what she was going to get. "Faye, don't ignore me. Answer me," she said harshly after Faye hadn't spoken.

Faye sighed and stood up, turning to face the witch. "My name isn't Faye, Ms. Granger. And Nolan isn't actually Nolan."

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. "Who are you really?" She asked, taking a step closer to the cell.

"My real name is Zeya. Nolan is actually Nikolai. Faye and Nolan are real people... well, they were. We killed the real Faye and Nolan and took their identities in order to get into the castle. We went through so much just to get here." Faye shook her head. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. We were never supposed to get caught."

Hermione bit her lip. "How long have you been planning this? The attack, I mean."

"We had been planning this since before your arrival," Faye replied. "If that's what you're worried about. It was just bad timing." Hermione nodded, slightly relieved that they hadn't started planning as soon as Hermione got there. She didn't want to think that the attack was because of her, and now she knew that it wasn't.

"Why did you do it?" Hermione asked. "What was the point of it all? And why did you lie to me?" Hermione had a feeling Faye was getting tired of all of the questions, but she couldn't help it. She wanted to know, and she wanted to understand why Faye had done this.

"Nolan," Faye stopped. "Nikolai and I were both taken from Midgard at a young age. We were both raised by the Dark Elves. He was the only one who ever understood me." Faye sighed. "He showed me kindness. He cared about me." Faye began walking around the cell as she spoke. "We started out as just friends, but as we got older and got closer to each other, things changed between us. We ended up falling for each other and that kicked off everything."

Hermione listened intently. Memories of all of Nolan's advances flooded into her head. "You're boyfriend kept advancing on me earlier on. Did you know that?" Hermione asked. Faye looked at her calmly.

"Of course I knew. It was part of the plan. When you came along and made things more complicated than they already were, we needed a distraction. We needed some way to keep you from finding out about our plan. I asked him to advance on you. He was hesitant at first and didn't want to do it, but I convinced him. I know it was wrong of me, but I panicked and immediately went to Nikolai. I didn't even think when I asked him to advance on you as a distraction."

Hermione tilted her head to the side. "You asked Nolan to harass me?" She asked. Faye just nodded, a sigh escaping her lips. "That is all kinds of messed up, Faye. Or Zeya. God, I don't even know what to bloody call you." Hermione groaned in frustration.

"Faye is fine," she replied. "I'm really sorry, Hermione. I wasn't thinking at the time. I want you to know that my intention was never to hurt you. In any way. I-I just wasn't thinking at the time."

Hermione put her hand up to stop the girl. "Faye, please. It's alright. I understand. Just, tell me why you let the Dark Elves into Asgard." Hermione didn't care about why Nolan had harassed her, she just wanted to know why Faye had let in the Dark Elves.

"They were my family. They were Nolan's, too. We were just trying to help our family get the aether back. Malekith wanted it and we felt responsible for getting it back. I mean, we weren't the ones who lost it in the first place, but we still felt like we needed to contribute. We were just trying to help our family. You understand that, don't you?" Faye asked. Her voice cracked at the end and she looked at Hermione with sadness.

Hermione tried not to sympathize with the girl, but she couldn't. "I understand, Faye. I do, really, but you killed Queen Frigga. Loki suffered immensely because of your actions."

"Loki deserved it," Faye said.

Hermione was taken aback. "What? What do you mean by that?" She asked. Anger swelled within her.

"There's a reason for everything," Faye replied simply.

"And what reason would that be?" Hermione asked, her hands clenching into fists at her side. She took deep breaths, trying to control her anger. She was aware of the things Loki had done in the past, but even Faye knew that Loki had changed. Faye couldn't possibly believe that Loki deserved to suffer in the way that he had. He had been through too much, Hermione knew that.

"I have my own reasons for why I think Loki deserved to suffer. You don't know him as well as you would like to, Ms. Granger. He wasn't always the sweet little boy that you turned him into. He used to be cruel, and all because he was 'royalty' and he could get away with whatever he wanted." Faye crossed her ams over her chest. "My friends and I were tormented by him, treated like garbage because we were nothing but servants to the royal family. Nolan and I may have had a plan when we got here, but that doesn't mean we weren't allowed to make friends and care about people. For a long time, Loki got away with so many things, all because he had a royal title. After the truth about Loki was revealed, he only became more cruel. True, Asgard didn't have to deal with him for awhile, but when he returned, my friends were frightened. He had lost his title, but he was still a cruel and manipulative man."

Hermione shook her head. "Faye," she said with a sigh. "I understand that Loki wasn't always a good person, and I'm sorry that Loki treated you and your friends the way he did, but those times have passed. He's not the same man that he used to be, and I know that you know that. You may feel like he deserved that pain, but after everything that he has been through, hurting him in the way you have was not the right thing to do."

Faye scoffed. "I don't care whether or not it was 'the right thing to do.' In my mind, he still deserved it. You can't make me change my mind, nor can you make me feel bad about what has happened. We didn't get what we wanted, but we got as close as we can. It's up to Thor and Loki now if they want to take the next step. Malekith wants the aether back and one way or another, he will get it."

Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing. All this time, she had believed that Faye was her friend, a good person who would never want to harm anyone. This wasn't the Faye she knew. That Faye had died a long time ago, killed by this girl that was standing in front of her. Hermione wanted to cry, mainly out of anger. She had been betrayed, lied to by someone she thought she could trust. She knew now that she would have to be even more careful with who she trusted, lest she just keep getting hurt.

Without another word, Hermione left the dungeons, tears threatening to fall. No, she would not cry. She refused to let anyone see her this way. That's when she ran into someone. "I'm so sorry," Hermione said as she looked to see who she had just ran into. Jane was standing there, a look of concern on her face. "Hermione, are you alright?" Jane asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Everything is fine," Hermione replied. "I just have something in my eye."

Jane sighed. "Honey, those are called tears. I'm a woman, remember? You can talk to me." She gently grabbed Hermione's arm and sat down with her on a pair of chairs in the hallway. "I can tell that something is bothering you. Please, talk to me." Hermione knew that she could trust Jane, yet she couldn't find the right words to tell her about what Faye had said to her. Jane sighed before speaking once more. "I'm not going to force you to tell me if you don't want to, but I'm here for you if you want to talk to someone about it."

Jane began to stand from the chair, but Hermione stopped her. "No, wait! I'm sorry, Jane. I'll tell you what happened." Jane sat back down in the chair, a gentle smile on her face. Hermione proceeded to tell her what Faye had said and it took everything in Hermione to not cry. Jane assured her that it was fine for Hermione to cry, but Hermione held off, wanting to appear stronger than she was.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione," Jane said, gently placing her hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Even I know that Loki is a changed man. I may not exactly trust him, but even I don't think he deserved to go through what he did. This Faye girl clearly has it wrong. She will be punished for her crimes, we both know that. You have nothing to worry about." Hermione nodded, knowing that Jane was right. Faye would get punished for her crimes, though Hermione didn't wish to inflict any kind of pain on the girl. She would never want that for anyone, no matter how cruel they were or how much they deserved it.

"Hey," Jane said, standing up. "If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here for you. So is your friend, wherever she's run off to." Hermione had almost forgotten that Luna was here.

"Thank you," Hermione said with a slight nod of her head. Hermione watched Jane walk away before sighing. She slowly stood up and walked back to her room. Loki was standing by the door when she returned.

"Some things never change, do they, _wandering child?"_ Loki smirked at her.

"Oh, great. Back to that nickname, are we?" Hermione asked as she opened the door to her room. Loki followed behind her, closing the door behind him and walking over to one of the chairs and taking a seat. Hermione sat down on her bed with a sigh, to which Loki asked her if everything was alright. "Yeah, I'm still processing everything that's happened," Hermione replied, dragging her hand through her hair. Loki stood up from his seat and walked over to Hermione's bed. He kneeled in front of her, taking her chin gently in his fingers. Their eyes met, and Hermione easily got lost in them.

"You should rest," he said quietly, leaning in to press a light kiss on Hermione's forehead. Hermione nodded, knowing he was right. "I need to go converse with Thor and Odin, but I will return to check up on you later." Loki straightened up and walked out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him. Hermione laid down on her bed and attempted to fall asleep.

...

Thor and Odin were conversing quietly when Loki approached them. "Have you located the building in which the attack was planned?" Loki asked.

"We believe so," Thor replied, turning to the god. "It matches the description the woman gave us perfectly." He turned to his father. "What is our plan? You do have a plan, don't you?" Thor asked Odin.

"Though the culprits have been caught, I do believe there is more. Search the building. There may be things in there that could be of use to us. After you have searched, burn the building to the ground," Odin spoke with a slight nod of his head. He turned to Thor. "Bring the warriors three and Sif with you. If I recall correctly, you told me about how good Sif is with fire."

A cheeky grin appeared on Thor's face, to which Loki rolled his eyes. "Go collect your warriors, Thor. I will join you all soon."

"You should stay here, Loki. Ms. Granger may need protection," Odin said.

"Is that implying that she needs to be protected from something?" Loki asked, his jaw clenched tightly. "You have done enough damage already, Odin, and if you plan on hurting Hermione in any way, I will make your life hell."

"That's enough, Loki," Thor said, placing a hand on Loki's shoulder and squeezing it slightly. "Hermione will be fine, won't she, father?" Thor turned to Odin, who simply nodded.

"You have nothing to worry about from me, Loki. No harm will come to Ms. Granger. I simply think it will be more comforting for her if you are here instead of going on crazy adventures," Odin replied.

Loki crossed his arms. "Frigga died in that attack. Going to that building and helping out is how I will pay my respects." Loki turned to Thor. "I will meet you and your friends back here in twenty minutes."

He turned on his heel and walked out of the room without another word.


	21. The Meeting Place

Hermione was asleep when Loki returned to her room. She was lying on the bed, uncovered, and in an uncomfortable looking position. Loki walked over to the witch and carefully adjusted her body so she was lying more comfortably before grabbing the blanket at the end of the bed and moving it over Hermione's body, covering her in the fabric. Loki looked down at the sleeping girl with a genuine smile. She looked so peaceful, so relaxed. Perhaps rest really was all she needed. He leaned down over her body and pressed a gentle kiss on Hermione's forehead, careful not to wake her up.

He sat in her room for several minutes, watching Hermione sleep. Every now and then, she would mumble quietly in her sleep. Loki would strain his ears to try and hear what Hermione was saying, but he couldn't understand her.

After awhile, he returned to the throne room and waited for Thor and the others. His hands were clasped behind his back and he was facing away from him. "Finally, you arrive," Loki said as he felt the group approaching him. "I specifically said to meet me back here in twenty minutes, did I not?" He asked, turning to the group. Loki turned his head at Thor's words.

"That's enough, Loki. You aren't in charge of this mission, I am. Be thankful you're even coming with us." Thor grabbed Loki's arm, the group following behind. They all headed out of the castle and down to the village where the meeting place was. Loki had remained silent the entire way there, which the group was thankful for. Once they arrived, they opened the door with no problems whatsoever. It seemed to be just an average building. There was no form of security, making it appear as if there was nothing to hide.

"Loki, is this an illusion?" Thor asked. "Is there some kind of spell on the building?" Loki sensed nothing and shook his head.

"Nothing I can sense. This appears to be all there is," Loki replied, walking around the room. The building was small and almost bare. it didn't seem like anyone lived there or had lived there for awhile. The walls were almost completely bare aside from a few paintings that were barely hanging from rusted nails. There was a shelf in the room filled with books that were covered in layers of dust. Loki used his magic to remove the dust from the old pieces of literature and pulled one of the books from the shelf. As the others continued scanning the room, trying to find anything suspicious or any clues, Loki flipped through the pages of the book he had picked up, his green eyes skimming over the faded words.

"Loki, can you put the book down and help us?" Thor asked. Loki looked up from the book for a slight moment before his eyes returned to the pages.

"If you haven't noticed, Thor, this place is barely a place. The walls are almost completely bare and aside from this bookshelf and that table," he gestured to the small table that sat in the corner of the room. "There is nothing here. Even these books hold nothing more but stories. If anything of importance was here, it is certainly not here anymore."

...

Awhile later, the group returned to the castle. Loki went off to check on Hermione while the others went to report back to Odin about what they had found, which was nothing. Loki had brought back with him the books that were inside the small building, seeing as how both he and Hermione enjoyed reading. He figured that if he didn't enjoy these stories, maybe Hermione would. The books really were nothing special, but both Loki and Hermione would read whatever they could get their hands on.

When Loki returned to Hermione's room, he found her pacing back and forth. Upon hearing Loki enter the room, Hermione looked up from the floor. She walked over to him furiously. "Where have you been?! I looked all over the castle for you. Do you have any idea how worried I've been?!" Loki put the books down and walked over to Hermione. He gently placed his hands on Hermione's shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I would have told you I would be out for awhile, but you were asleep. I didn't want to wake you." Loki gently took Hermione's face in his hands, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs.

"Did you think I wouldn't notice that you weren't there?" Hermione asked softly, looking into the god's eyes. Her own pupils held a look of worry in them, and Loki could tell that Hermione had panicked upon not being able to find him. Loki sighed and pressed a tender kiss to Hermione's forehead, his eyes closing as his lips made contact with her skin.

"I'm sorry, darling. I didn't think it would worry you so much. I deeply apologize for worrying you." A small smile made its way onto Loki's face. He looked at Hermione, his smile quickly fading upon realizing that something was wrong. "Hermione, darling. What is it? What's wrong?" He asked her, grabbing her chin gently and tilting her head up so their eyes met. Hermione sighed and stepped away from him. She turned away, walking over to the window. The witch leaned against the wall beside the window, staring out at the view. Loki quietly walked over and stood behind Hermione. He wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist, pulling her close to him. Loki leaned down and pressed his lips to her the exposed skin between her neck and right shoulder. "Darling, please. Tell me what's bothering you."

Hermione's eyes closed as she took a deep breath before speaking. "When I was looking for you earlier, I overheard Odin say that Faye and Nolan are to be executed tomorrow morning," Hermione said softly. The two had committed a crime, but Hermione would never wish death upon them. Sure, Frigga had died in the process, but Hermione didn't feel they deserved a punishment as cruel as death. Hermione felt Loki's breath on her skin as he sighed. She turned to face him, their eyes meeting.

Loki's eyes flickered down to Hermione's lips. Hermione turned around to fully face him, Loki hands slipping from around her waist and onto her hips. Hermione slid her hand onto Loki's chest, the other coming up to the side of Loki's neck. There was nothing but silence between them. Both were nervous to say the least. Looking into her eyes one last time, Loki leaned down and slowly connected their lips.

The kiss was slow and gentle, almost as if the two were afraid they would hurt each other. In all honesty, Loki was afraid that he would hurt Hermione. As strong as she was, Loki knew that her heart was fragile and he didn't ever want her to worry about him. She meant far too much to him to ever want to hurt her. The thought of doing that hurt him more than anything. Hermione could imagine hurting him either. Things between them had gotten far too complicated. This wasn't their first kiss, but it was a lot more romantic than the first one had been.

She knew that if Ron ever found out about her feelings for Loki, he would be heartbroken. Their romantic relationship had barely begun when she was brought to Asgard. Now, she couldn't imagine being with anyone other than Loki. Any romantic feelings she had had for Ron were nonexistent now. Her heart belonged to Loki and Loki alone. There was no point in even thinking about how Ron felt about her because she wouldn't feel the same way. After a few moments, the kiss was broken. The two stood there, breathless and in silence, other than their heavy breathing of course.

"Where did you go anyway?" Hermione asked after her breathing was back to normal.

Loki was hesitant to answer, not knowing how Hermione would react, but he knew that he couldn't lie to her. He didn't want to. "I went with Thor and some of his friends to the place where the Dark Elf attack was planned. Odin believed that there would be things there that could be useful to Asgard," Loki said, looking into the girl's eyes. Her own eyes widened.

"You went where?! Why?! Because Odin told you to? Loki, what if there had been Dark Elves there? What if you had gotten hurt? Or died?" Hermione continued going off on him. She was silenced though when Loki put his hands on her shoulders.

"Hermione. I'm alright. We're all alright. There's no reason to worry. Odin didn't even want me to go, but i refused to stay. I wanted to go in order to avenge Frigga, and because you almost died during that attack as well. I had to know if there was more to come."

"What did you find?" Hermione asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Loki shook his head and sighed.

"We found nothing," he told her truthfully. "The building was stripped bare when we arrived. If there was anything there before, there surely wasn't when we got there. However, there were some books left at the scene that I brought back with me. I figured that if you were getting tired of the material in our library, I would bring you some new material." He gestured over to the books that he had set down. Hermione walked over and began looking through them. "I don't know if you will find any interest in them, but I know how much you enjoy reading."

Hermione looked over at him, a small smile appearing on her face. "I appreciate it." She closed the book she had been looking through and sat down on the bed. Loki joined her, taking a seat next to her and wrapping his arm around her. Hermione sighed and laid her head on Loki's shoulder. He leaned down, kissing her temple and rubbing her arm gently.

"It'll be alright, Hermione. Everything will be alright."

...

Hermione hadn't been able to sleep that night. Knowing what was to come the next morning did nothing but put her in a bad mood. Loki had stayed with her that night, lying next to her on her in her bed. His arm had been wrapped around her tightly in a protective manner. When she started to toss and turn, he would whisper softly in her ear and plant gentle kisses on her skin. He knew that Hermione was having a hard time dealing with this and he just wanted to help her relax.

The events of that morning had been kept a secret from everyone in the village. Only Odin, Thor, the warriors three, Sif, Jane, Loki, and Hermione were present for the execution, aside from a few guards who were there in case of an emergency. The executioner stood in silence as Faye and Nolan were brought out in chains. Faye made eye contact with Hermione, who stood beside Loki. She was trying hard to keep her face blank of emotions. Loki knew how hard Hermione was trying to keep a straight face. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, reassuring her that it was okay. Hermione looked up at Loki, who smiled at her gently. He leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"It's alright, Hermione. You don't have to watch." Loki turned back as the executioner began speaking. Nolan was the first to be executed. Hermione's eyes had closed, but she could hear the decapitation of Nolan's head as the axe sliced through his skin, the head thudding onto the ground and rolling away. She heard Faye cry out at the sight. Hermione's eyes opened and she thought she was going to be sick. Faye was put in the same position as Nolan, and as the executioner raised the axe, Hermione turned into Loki's body, squeezing her eyes shut. Loki held her tightly in his arms. The sound of Faye's head dropping onto the concrete ground was muffled by the coat Loki was wearing. It had been colder lately in Asgard, so everyone was bundled in furry coats.

Hermione noticed that Luna was not here and when she asked Loki about why Luna had not attended, he told her that Luna had no reason to be there as she had not been part of the attack. Hermione simply nodded and made a mental note that she needed to speak with Luna and tell her about what had gone on between her and Loki.

Despite Jane wanting to get closer to Hermione, she still felt that Luna was the person she could talk to the most about Loki. She trusted Jane, but Luna was one of her greatest friends.

Loki nudged her a bit, pulling her from her thoughts. He gestured with his head that it was time to go and the two walked off in silence, wandering back into the castle.


	22. The Aether

**Author's Note: Hey, guys. I'm so sorry for the long wait. The first part of summer break, I was traveling and didn't have time to write, as I was spending time with family I had never met and going to all sorts of places and doing things. Then, my laptop broke and I had to wait awhile for it to get repaired, but I'm back now and can continue the story. I've missed you all so much, and I hope you can forgive me for the long wait.**

After the execution, Hermione went to find Luna, which didn't take long. She was in the library, curled up in one of the giant armchairs with a blanket over her and a book on her lap. Luna looked up from the book when she heard Hermione approaching. "Hey," Luna said, putting her bookmark in so she didn't lose her place. She set the book down beside her on the table and sat up. "Hermione, I heard about the execution. Are you alright?" A concerned look was on Luna's face. The blonde was always a caring person, and that was one of the many reasons that Hermione liked her so much.

Hermione nodded her head slightly, her voice quiet as she spoke. "Yeah. I'm fine, I suppose. I just..." She sighed. "I trusted Faye. I thought that Faye was a good person, and to know that she's responsible for the death of Frigga..." Hermione shook her head, her eyes closing. "I know that what Faye did was wrong, but an execution. That's something I never expected to be part of. I didn't even ask to be there." Never in her life did Hermione think she would be a witness to an execution. She had seen deaths before, and it wasn't something she had enjoyed seeing, and being at that execution and hearing Faye and Nolan's death did nothing to make her feel better. "Wasn't Harry's death enough?" Hermione asked. "Too many lives have been lost, Luna. When will it end?"

Luna stood up and embraced Hermione tightly. "Unfortunately, everyone dies at some point, Hermione. I wish I could say that it's over, but it's not." Luna pulled away.

"How did you even know about the execution?" Hermione asked. "You weren't even there." Hermione wiped away the tears that had started falling and tried to calm herself. She wrapped her arms around herself, hugging herself tightly.

"Word travels, Hermione. I heard some of the guards talking about it this morning." Luna shrugged. "Hermione, did you want to talk to me about something?" Luna asked. "Or did you come in here to read like you often do?" Hermione couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she remembered why she had come in here in the first place. She grabbed Luna's hand and sat down in the chair next to the one Luna had been sitting in. "What is it, Hermione?" She asked, sitting back down in the armchair.

"Loki and I kissed," Hermione said, her smile growing. Luna's own eyes widened, and a smile appeared on her face. "And it was the most amazing feeling. It was... perfect." Her brown eyes shifted to the floor, her face turning slightly red as she remembered the kiss, the feeling of Loki's lips on hers. He was so gentle as he kissed her, almost as if she was this fragile doll that he was afraid he would break. Hermione knew she loved him, and she knew that he loved her back. There was no denying that the two were in love. What she had with Loki was so different to what she with Ron.

"Hermione, I'm so happy for you!" Luna's smile soon faded. "Still, what about Ron? He doesn't know about Loki. More importantly, he doesn't know about your relationship with him. What are you going to tell him when you see him again?" Hermione sighed, shaking her head. "Hermione, you have to tell him at some point. When you left, you and Ron had just started your relationship. He still loves you, Hermione."

"Luna, I..." Hermione stood up from the chair and walked away from Luna, stopping in the middle of the room. She turned around to face Luna, whose expression had changed to one of understanding, as if she knew what Hermione was going to say. "I don't even know if I'll ever see Ron again. He's still my friend, and he will always be my friend, but I just don't know." Luna stood up and walked over to Hermione. She put her hand on Hermione's shoulder.

"It's okay. I'm sure Ron will understand when I tell him what's happened."

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?" She asked. "How are you going to tell him?" Luna picked up the book she had been reading and her blanket and headed out the door, Hermione following behind her. "Luna, tell me, please." She gently grabbed Luna's arm, making the girl stop and turn around.

"I have to go back at some point, Hermione. I can't stay here forever. I was supposed to find you and bring you back to Hogwarts, but if you don't want to go, then I'll have to return to the school on my own. Nobody else knows about what's been happening here. When I go back, I can explain to the others." Luna walked away, leaving Hermione alone in the hallway.

...

Later that day, Loki knocked on Hermione's door. "Come in," Hermione called from the other side. Loki walked in to find Hermione looking out of the window. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, placing a gentle kiss on her shoulder.

"What's on your mind, darling?" He asked her quietly, sensing that something was on her mind. "And on't try to lie to me and tell me that everything is alright because I'm the god of mischief and lies, and I always know when I'm being lied to," Loki whispered in Hermione's ear, placing a gently kiss on the shell of her ear as well. Hermione sighed and turned to face him.

She looked into his eyes, the eyes that had once held sadness, and now held nothing but love. "Luna's going back to Hogwarts soon. She's going to tell all of my friends about what happened to me and about my relationship." Loki looked at her, confusion written on his face.

"I don't understand. Is that a bad thing?" He asked her, holding her close to him. "I mean, I can understand that your friend leaving may be hard, but her telling your other friends about our relationship... are you against it?"

Hermione moved away from him and sat down on her bed. "I think I've told you before about how I had just gotten into a relationship when I got here."

"It sounds... vaguely familiar," Loki said, taking a seat beside her on the bed. "Do you fear the boy's reaction to finding out you no longer have interest in him?" He asked her softly, moving a few strands of hair from her face. "Is that what it is, Hermione?"

Hermione nodded her head ever so slightly. "It is." She bit her lip gently. "I don't think I will ever see Ron again, but at this point, I don't think I could face him. After all that has happened here, I couldn't bare to see his face again, especially since I would just end up breaking his heart. It would break my own, knowing that I would have hurt someone who cared about me very much." She turned to look at him, staring into his eyes, filled with compassion. "It would be like me hurting you, and that's the last thing I would ever want to do." Loki took her hand and raised it to his lips, pressing a kiss upon her knuckles.

"You could never hurt me, my love," he said assuringly, causing a small smile to appear on Hermione's face.

Loki sighed then, and Hermione became worried. "What is it?" She asked him. "What's wrong?" Loki stood up and turned to her.

"We think there is a way to help Jane. If you weren't already aware, Jane has not been... herself, exactly. There is... something inside her that is far from human. Thor needs my assistance, meaning that I'm going to be gone for a bit." Hermione listened to him and stood up, walking over to him. "I promise that I will return to you, Hermione. I would never abandon you, and I would never do anything to hurt you." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I love you, Hermione. You are the most important person in my life, and that will never change."

Hermione pressed her lips against his gently, wrapping her arms around his neck. "As much as I don't want you to go, I trust you," she said once the kiss was broken. "If you don't return to me, I swear-"

"I will," he interrupted. "I promise you, my love. I will return to you. You have my word." He smiled at her and left the room.

...

"I am Loki of Jotunheim, and I bring you a gift!" Loki threw Jane onto the ground.

"You have taken something from us," Malekith said to Jane. "I'd like it back."

Jane was lifted from the ground and the aether poured out of her and into Malekith. After that, the battle had begun. Loki and Thor fought against the elves with all that they had. Loki had one main goal, and that was to get back to Hermione. Alas, that was not to happen.

He stabbed one of the creatures, a smile on his face as the creature turned. Shock was written on his face as the creature pulled him in, stabbing him through his chest. "No!" Thor yelled. Loki fell to the ground, his entire body shaking.

"See you in Hel, monster." Loki had put a bomb looking thing on the creature, which quickly destroyed the monster. The battle was over. Thor ran to Loki's side.

"I'm sorry," Loki said. Thor called him a fool, to which Loki agreed. "Tell Hermione that I love her. Tell her that I fought for her, and that I... that I will never forget her."

Thor nodded. "Of course. I will tell her all of those things." A small tear rolled down Thor's face. "I will tell father what you did here today," he promised.

"I didn't do it for him," Loki replied. His eyes closed and he was gone. Thor let out an agonizing cry, Jane watching and coming to his side.

...

Later, Thor returned to the castle. The battle back on earth had ended. Thor had won against Malekith. Jane had stayed with Eric and Darcy. Hermione was one of the first to approach him when he entered the castle. "Where's Loki?" She asked when she saw that Thor was alone. He shook his head. Hermione knew what that meant, and tears welled up in her eyes.

"No," she said. "No, no, no!" The tears fell like a waterfall. "He promised me that he would come back! He gave me his word! He promised that he would return to me!" Hermione screamed, falling to the floor. Thor walked over to Hermione, tears forming in his own eyes.

"He fought hard, Hermione," Thor said. "He fought to return to you." Hermione continued to cry, his words not doing anything to calm her. "Hermione, he did everything he could. He wanted to return to you. Before he died, he asked me to tell you that he loves you, and that he fought for you... he said that he would never forget you." Hermione wiped the tears from her face, trying to calm herself. She shook her head, her eyes closing. She tilted her head down to the ground.

"He shouldn't have gone," she said quietly. "He shouldn't have gone," she repeated louder, standing up. "This is your fault!" She shouted at Thor. "If you hadn't asked him to go with you, Loki would still be alive."

"We couldn't have done it without him, Hermione. Malekith would have won if it wasn't for Loki. He saved us all." Thor knew that Hermione was upset and he decided to leave her alone for now, knowing that she would need time to take it all in and calm herself.

Hermione went back to her room and collapsed on the bed, crying her eyes out. She wasn't seen for the rest of the night.

 **Author's Note: Thank you guys so much for being patient with me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The story is almost over, so I hope you've enjoyed reading my fanfic, and stay tuned for the final chapter.**


	23. Going Home

**Author's Note: Hello, my wonderful readers! This chapter has me a little emotional, I'm not going to lie. If you look at the day that this story was first put out, then you'll see that I have been working on this story for over two years. I know that the story started off with short chapters, but you guys have probably realized that my chapters have gotten longer over time. As you may know, writing the start of a story is never easy. I, myself, struggle with writing the first chapter of a story, or maybe the first few chapters. Anyway, I've always struggled the most with finishing stories once I've started them. I've gotten a lot better at it lately, and I'm so happy that I'm able to complete this story. I've worked so hard on it, and I appreciate everyone who has taken time out of their day to read this. Thank you so much for sticking with me if you've been with me since the beginning of this, and I hope you all enjoy the final chapter of _The God & The Witch. _**

Hermione had stayed up late into the night, her face stained with the tears that had fallen. She stared blankly down at the blanket on the bed. Loki was gone. Hermione had lost him forever. He had promised that he would return to her, and now he never would. It was too much for Hermione to think about, but she couldn't find anything to take her mind off of him. She had already lost Harry, and now she had lost the person she loved. Hermione felt like the whole world was collapsing on her. Hermione began to think about her entire time in Asgard. That day when she was wandering the halls and Loki spoke to her for the first time through her mind, when he gave her that nickname. _Wandering child,_ he had called her. Hermione began to wonder when Loki had stopped calling her that. Every time she thought about him calling her that, she could hear his voice. She wished so much that she could hear it again.

Hermione thought about how Loki had protected her from Nolan, and then from the Dark Elves during the attack. He had saved her life more than once in the times when she found herself defenseless. She couldn't have just punched her way out of those situations either, seeing as those creatures and Nolan had been a lot stronger than Draco Malfoy. Thinking about when she had punched Draco back in her third year put a smile on Hermione's face, but as she continued to think about all that had happened while she had been here, Hermione's smile faded. She stood up and walked over to the window, staring out at the scenery before her. Her mind wandered to when it had been revealed that Frigga and Loki both thought that Hermione would be able to change Loki, and when she thought that the two were crazy for thinking that would happen. She couldn't help but smile as she thought about how right they had been. She had definitely changed Loki, and even though it had taken a while for Odin to realize, Hermione was sure the Alfather was aware of it now.

Hermione thought of how jealous Loki had gotten when Thor was helping her put presents under the giant Christmas tree. She remembered getting so mad at him, and never thinking that it was because he was so protective of her and liked her. Looking back at it, she wasn't even sure why she had gotten so mad.

Hermione sneaked out of her room and to Loki's room next door. She quietly opened the door and walked in, closing it behind her. She looked down at the floor, remembering when she had comforted Loki in this very room after Frigga's death. She held him close, hugged him tightly. She had stayed with him the whole night, just being there for him while he grieved. It was perhaps the first time she had ever seen Loki so vulnerable since she had arrived. It had been a special bonding moment for them.

In fact, it may have even been the moment she realized that Loki wasn't as evil as people believed.

...

Hermione had made her decision late into the night, and the first thing she did in the morning was find Luna. The blonde was in the garden when Hermione approached her. "Luna," Hermione called as she made her way towards the girl. Luna turned at the sound of Hermione's voice, a small and sad smile on her face.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry. I heard about Loki. How are you feeling?" Luna asked, putting a hand on Hermione's shoulder. Hermione liked how Luna was always concerned about her friends and made sure that they were okay when something happened. Hermione assured her that she was okay, and pulled her aside, sitting down on one of the outdoor benches.

"I heard that you were going back to Hogwarts this afternoon," Hermione said. "I'd like to go back with you. I've made my decision about staying here, and I think it's time for me to go home." Hermione's voice was steady. She had loved being in Asgard, but there was nothing for her here now that Loki was dead. He was the only reason she had stayed in the first place, and now there was no point in staying at all.

"You want to go back? Why? Why now?" Luna quesioned, part of her already knowing why Hermione wanted to return to Asgard.

Hermione took a deep breath before speaking again. "There's nothing here for me now. Loki's dead, Luna. He was the only reason I ever wanted to stay in Asgard, but now there's no point in staying. Besides, there's so many things I want to do back home... there's so many things I need to do. The war is over. I need to find my parents and give them back their memory. And I miss Ginny. Ron and Neville, too. It's time, Luna."

Luna nodded her head. "I'm glad that you're coming home, Hermione. You should let Odin know of your decision before you go," Luna said.

Hermione nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I'm going to do that right now. I'll see you later, Luna." Hermione stood up and walked away to find Odin.

She found Odin in the throne room, staring out one of the large windows. One of the guards came in and announced Hermione's arrival. The Alfather turned as Hermione approached him. "Ms. Granger, I wasn't expecting you. What can I do for you?" He asked, clasping his hands behind his back. He could see that Hermione had something to tell him, and he let her know that he could tell she had something important she needed to tell him. "There is something you wish to tell me, I know. Speak now, Ms. Granger."

"I have decided to return home with my friend Luna," Hermione said in a hushed tone. Odin rose an eyebrow at Hermione.

"Speak louder, my child. I did not hear you."

Hermione took a deep breath. "I've going home," Hermione replied, her voice loud and clear. "I've made my decision. I cannot stay here in Asgard any longer."

"Why is that?" Odin asked, taking a step towards her. "Why do you wish to leave Asgard, Ms. Granger?"

"Surely, you know of Loki's death," Hermione said.

"I do."

"Loki was the only thing, or only one, keeping me in Asgard. Now that he's gone, there's no reason for me to stay. I loved him more than I ever thought I could love someone, and I have lost him forever. Being here in Asgard, there are just so many memories of the two of us together. I cannot bear to stay here and remember these things, lest my heart break even more than it already has. Please, Alfather. Surely, you understand why I must leave." Hermione hoped he could understand that she couldn't bear to stay here any longer. Looking into his eyes, she knew that he did.

"I suppose there is nothing I can say or do to convince you to stay," Odin said. "I, much to my dismay, do not possess the power to turn back time or bring back the dead." She walked passed Hermione and took a seat on the throne. "I may have never considered Loki to be my son, but I could tell that you were changing him right from the start. Loki, despite the things he did, slowly grew to regret his past decisions. I saw it in every moment that I saw you two together. I know that he loved you, and cared about you more than I care to admit. You really did change him for the better."

Hermione was silent as she listened to Odin. She could feel tears pooling up in her eyes, but she held them back.

"If you wish to return back to your home alongside your friend, I will not stop you," Odin said. "But know this, Ms. Granger. You will always be welcome in Asgard... and you will be missed."

Hermione nodded before turning and walking out of the throne room.

...

Later that day, Thor escorted Luna and Hermione down to the bifrost where they would be sent back to Hogwarts. Thor and Luna said their goodbyes before going their separate ways. Luna waited for Hermione, who was now speaking to Thor.

"I admire you, Hermione," Thor said with a smile. "You managed to do something that I was beginning to think was impossible. You changed Loki. I am deeply sorry that Loki couldn't keep his promise. I know that he fought in your name against Malekith and the Dark Elves. You know that, too, right?"

Hermione nodded. "I do. I'm sorry for your loss as well. He may have been my lover, but he was your brother above anything else. You two grew up together. My pain for him could never be greater than yours. Something you should know is that Loki changed me, too. He changed me just as much as I changed him, I think. In many ways, I feel stronger because of him... and I know that he still loves me, even though he's no longer with us. I will never forget him, nor will I forget you, or Frigga. Above all, I will never forget about Asgard, and all of the incredible things that have happened to me since I arrived. I have all of you to thank for changing my life."

Hermione and Thor embraced, letting go of each other after a moment. Hermione turned and walked over to Luna. She looked back at Thor, a small smile on his face. In an instant, Hermione and Luna entered the bifrost and were gone.

...

Thor walked into the throne room a while later. "Is it done, then?" Odin asked once Thor was standing before him.

"Yes, father. Hermione and Luna have both returned to their home safely," Thor assured. "You should know that Loki fought hard against Malekith. He died, not only for Hermione, but for all of Asgard as well. He died valiantly, a true hero's death."

Odin put his hand up to silence Thor. "I understand, my son. I realize that Loki died a different man than he was before Ms. Granger arrived in Asgard. His life will be celebrated, I assure you son. All of Asgard shall know of Loki's good deeds."

"Father, there is something else I wish to tell you," Thor said.

"Speak now, my son. Tell me what you wish to tell." Odin said, leaning forward in the throne.

"I wish to return to Midgard. I wish to be with Jane. I'd like your blessing to stay in Midgard with her," Thor said.

"Stay in Midgard?" Odin asked. Thor nodded. "I suppose that if that is what you truly want, but what of the throne? You are the rightful heir to the throne."

"Asgard deserves a great king, and that is something I don't think I could ever be. Loki deserved the throne far more than I ever did," Thor said, shaking his head. Thor stuck Mjölnir out in front of him. "Consider this as my bargain for letting me return to Midgard."

Odin put his hand up once more, shaking his head. "It belongs to you," he said.

Thor looked up at Odin, a grateful smile on his face. "Thank you, father." Thor turned and walked down the to the entrance of the castle, his cape flowing behind him as he made his way to the bifrost.

Back on the throne, a shimmering green light appeared around Odin. Odin's white hair turned to black, and his elder features dissolved into the features of the trickster god himself. Loki sat on the throne, a mischievous look on his face. The god smiled as he watched Thor walk out of the room.

"No. Thank you."

 _The End_

 **Author's Note: Thank you all so much for reading my fanfic. I hope you all enjoyed it. If you saw chapter 22 before I edited it, you'll know that I said there would be some alternate endings coming. I have decided against this. I want you guys to have your own ideas about what could have happened if the ending had been different. I don't want to write out different scenarios and leave you guys to not imagine different endings for yourselves. With that said, I hope you liked _The God & The Witch. _****I look forward to finding out how you feel about the ending. Thank you so much! :)**


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